Resonance
by Halt.CPM
Summary: Taylor doesn't trigger in the locker, but she gets powers anyway. Leviathan doesn't hit Brockton Bay, but the city is in ruins anyway. Battle lines have been drawn over the uneasy truce, and Taylor Hebert lies in the middle of it all. What does it mean to be a hero in a dying city? How much are our ideals really worth when it's time to pay up? AU. AltPower!Taylor.
1. Ruin-01: What a cape needs

**Chapter 1: What a cape needs**

 _Keep your head down_ , I thought as I walked down the hallway, slouching purposefully to make myself look smaller. Not that it would hide me from them for long, but every little bit helped. It had to help. I'd look around once in awhile to see if I'd been spotted. Mostly though, I kept my eyes glued to the floor. Just because I didn't look up often doesn't me I didn't _see_ what was going on.

A few skinheads were hanging out by the corner of the hallway, talking animatedly. One of them made a thrusting motion repeatedly, as if holding an imaginary knife. The others around him laughed. The Nazis were probably talking about mugging someone or, as I've heard them call it, the ethnic solution.

One of them eyed me and smiled, even going as far as to nod in my general direction. The Empire Eighty Eight were thugs and gangbangers, but they didn't prey on white people. And, as racist as it may sound, I was "white enough" for them. Small blessings really.

If I continued to walk down the hall, I'd reach a stairwell where a mix of Asians liked to hang around. It was an odd group, because the Japanese hated the Koreans, the Thais hated the Cambodians, the Vietnamese hated the Vietnamese and everyone hated the Chinese. Somehow, they stuck together. They still hated each other, they just hated the Empire that much more.

Brockton Bay was getting worse by the day as the Empire and the Azn Bad Boys clashed openly in the streets. The police couldn't do much when facing off against parahumans like Lung or Kaiser and the Protectorate...well, they did the best they could. Just last week they managed to apprehend a villain during a bank robbery. I think his name - his cape name, that is - was Regent. He was part of a small time villain crew called the Undersiders.

It was a small step in the right direction. Too bad they had to run a marathon. Even counting New Wave and the Wards, the heroes had one cape to every two the gangs could call on.

Bad as they were, I wasn't hiding from the gangs. It was something much worse.

"Back so soon, Taylor?" Emma said in a sickeningly sweet tone as she walked past me. "Enjoy the new _locker_!"

I kept myself from flinching at the word. That was Emma being nice on a good day. Five months and she was still bringing that up.

I stopped before my locker. Yes, as Emma loved to remind me, my new locker, again. One of the few concessions Dad managed to wrangle out of the school after threatening to sue, a new locker every time one of them fails. I'd rather he just let me drop out from this shithole altogether, but Mom had been an educator. Dad liked to think school was her legacy to me.

I flung the locker open. A book fell to the floor, torn pages flying about, half of it soaked in some sticky fluid that smelled far too sweet. I closed my eyes. "Fuck!" I punched the locker next to mine, ignoring the flash of pain and the redness of my knuckles.

This was the fourth time in five months and Emma was getting good at breaking locks. It had barely taken a month this time. I emptied out my locker into my bag before picking up the damaged book.

The bell rang.

I took a deep breathe. "Eight hours, Taylor. You can do this." I lifted my bag, feeling the weight pulling uncomfortably on my shoulders.

It was a Friday today. Eight more hours and I'd be free.

 _-Resonance-_

"Taylor!" Mr. Gladly said, happily surprised. "Glad you could join us." He turned to the class. "Would anyone kindly let Taylor join their group." The class stared at me like I was an alien. Greg tried to raise his hand but one of the girls in his group slapped it down before Mr. Gladly saw it. To be honest, I was relieved he hadn't. Greg was nice enough, I guess, but difficult to work with. He always kept going into tangents.

"No one? Really?" He asked, frowning. "How about-"

"I'm fine being in a group by myself, Mr. Gladly," I said.

His frown deepened, probably because I called him by his name instead of Mr. G. "This is supposed to be a group work. Plus, you haven't been around the last few days."

"I'll manage somehow, sir."

"'Sir'? You make me sound so old, Taylor," he said, chuckling a little. "You understand I'll have to grade your output same as the rest?"

I nodded. It would be better this way.

"Well, if you're sure, I guess I can allow it this one time," he said. The only free seat was at the back of the room, next to Emma's group. The four of them eyed me as I approached and, as if on cue, laughed.

"Yesterday, we ended our discussion with how society has changed with the emergence of capes," Mr. Gladly said. "I'd like to explore one issue in particular: public safety. The case of Paige Mcabee, better known as Canary, has been in the public's eye for some time now as the court decides on a verdict. As a group, I'd like you to decide what punishment, if any, is appropriate for Ms. Mcabee." Mr. Gladly took a seat and fiddled with his laptop.

Images began projecting onto the whiteboard. One of them was a protester with a sign that read "Set free, Mcabee".

"Here are the facts as we know them…"

I grabbed my notebook from my bag and began writing down what Mr. Gladly said. Mcabee was a rogue, a parahuman that was neither villain nor hero and one of the few famous ones out there. According to Parahumans Online, her power made her a great singer, but also made people listening to her extremely susceptible to her suggestions. She had told an ex-boyfriend of hers to "go fuck himself", and he'd taken it literally, tearing off his dick and sticking it up his ass. I mean, the guy probably deserved it, but that didn't make Canary's power any less scary. The PRT agreed with me, assigning her a threat rating of Master 8.

"Who wants to start us off?" Mr. Gladly asked. A hand went up almost immediately. "Sophia? This is a pleasant surprise. Go ahead."

"Sending Paige Mcabee to the Birdcage is a mockery of justice. Just in Brockton Bay we have murderers and drug pushers like the Merchants who continuously get sent to normal prisons that they break out of every other week. Yet, when someone like Mcabee, a rogue, whose first offense is basically justifiable assault, we're willing to treat her like a mass-murderer? That's fucked up!"

"Excellent point, Sophia. Does anyone have a counterpoint?" Nobody was going to argue against Hess, the track star and Emma's best friend. She was too popular.

Naturally, the task fell to me. "Her powers are dangerous though, much more than your average cape. She's rated a Master 8." Hess turned to glare at me, but I'd faced worse from her.

"But she's isn't a threat," Sophia insisted. "She's a rogue with no previous criminal history."

"She nearly killed somebody with it. I don't like the idea of sending her to the Birdcage when we have plenty of villains getting lenient treatment, but the fact is we can't contain a threat like her, a cape, in a normal prison. Just look at the statistics for cape breakouts every year," I said.

Sophia crossed her arms. "She lost control over her powers once in how many years? And in her situation, the asshole deserved it. Why do we demand capes show more emotional restraint than normal people?"

I huffed. "It's _exactly_ because she's a cape that we demand it. Look, when a normal person loses it, they punch someone. When a cape loses it, _cities_ die!"

"That's a good observation, Taylor," Mr. Gladly said, smiling. "'With great power comes great responsibility'." Was he quoting someone? Maybe a movie. Who knows.

"That's an exaggeration," Sophia said.

"Nilbog." I raised a hand and began ticking it off. "Slaughterhouse Nine. Ash Beast. Sleeper. Moord Nag. Need I go on?"

"You can't compare Mcabee to S-Class threats! That's like saying all white people are gangbanging Nazis and those people are fucking psychos! Mcabee just had a bad day." The only skinhead in the class glared at her. She either didn't notice or didn't care. "If she were a normal, any judge would've thrown out the case," Sophia continued.

"Yes, that's a good point Sophia," Mr. Gladly said. "It isn't fair to generalize all capes by the most extreme elements."

"But she isn't, so they didn't," I said. "She's a _precedent_ setting case. If we let Canary walk away, we send villains everywhere the wrong message! 'Nearly killed someone? Just _claim_ it was an accident!'"

"I'm glad you brought that up," Gladly interjected again. "That's exactly why this case has featured prominently in the national discourse. How this case is handled will affect America for a very long time."

"What does that say about parahumans? That we consider them less than human because they happened to trigger?" Sophia asked.

"Well, maybe she should have joined the Protectorate instead of going rogue!" I said. "Maybe then she'd have the training she needed to control her powers!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hebert. You think the Protectorate can give a cape _training_?" she spat out. "They're run by the PRT, by normals."

"Capes need oversight!"

"Oversight? _Oversight_? You want to know why thugs like Hookwolf are still running around? It's because of fucking 'oversight' from the fucking bureaucrats! They don't understand the unwrit-" She stopped.

Gladly took advantage of the pause. "I think-"

"Normals don't understand cape culture!" Sophia shouted. "How would _you_ know what a cape needs?"

"How would you?" I grinned smugly. Small victories really.

I could hear Sophia breathing heavily, her hands clenched into fists.

"Ahem," Gladly started. "Well, Sophia and Taylor's, ah, spirited conversation have brought up plenty of excellent points. Parahuman rights versus public safety, the evolution of cape culture in America and whether dealing with potential S-Class threats preemptively is moral. I'd like to expound more on the last one. Consequentialist ethics tells us that results ought to dictate what is and isn't right, and this reasoning is often used when arguing for kill orders on potential S-Class threats. On the other hand…"

 _-Resonance-_

Ding-dong, the school bell chimed, and I was out the door at a speed that would've made Olympic power walkers proud. A for effort. It wasn't quite a run though. I didn't want to give Sophia the satisfaction of thinking I was scared of her. I headed up the stairwell to the third floor and made my way to the girl's washroom.

No one was there yet, thankfully. I let myself in one of the cleaner stalls and locked the door behind me. I leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly. Sophia would be coming after me with a vengeance for today. Well, more than usual at least. I glanced at my watch, noting that I had about twenty minutes left of "lunch hour". Why did they call it that anyway? We didn't even get a full hour to eat.

I sat on the lid of the toilet and got my brown bag lunch to begin eating. This was my life now.

I didn't want to deal with all the stares and whispers if I ate outside, not to mention how there was always someone who'd tell Emma where I was to get into her good graces. So everyday, I'd choose a random washroom to hide in, if I bothered showing up for school that is. It made it that much harder for Emma and Sophia to find me.

The door of the washroom banged open.

I froze, still as a statue and kept my ears open. If I moved, the brown bag on my lap would rustle and alert the girls outside to my presence.

I couldn't hear much, the voices obscured by giggling and the sound of water from the sinks. One of the girls knocked on the stall and I ignored it. There were plenty of free stalls in the washroom right now.

She knocked again. And again.

"Occupied," I called out, hesitantly.

"Hebert," said the unmistakeable voice of Sophia. There was more giggling and I barely heard one of them say, "Yeah, do it."

I stood abruptly, letting the paper bag fall to the tiled floor, looking up at the stalls to either side of me wearily. I rushed towards the door, popped open the lock and pushed. It didn't budge. There was more giggling and the sound of the other stall doors rustling open.

I pressed against the door again, leveraging all of my weight against it. The door opened and I was barreling out of the stall.

Straight into Hess.

She sidestepped me gracefully, bringing an arm up to catch my neck and my throat contracted, choking me. And suddenly I was staring at the ceiling, head throbbing to the beat of my heart.

I thrashed my arms and legs around wildly, trying to get up, trying to hit someone, _anyone_.

"Stay the fuck down Hebert!" Pain erupted in my ankle. The bitch stomped on my foot! I wasn't in a position to fight back.

"You're weak, Herbert," Hess said, sounding, not angry, but disgusted. "A victim. A loser." The hell did the bitch want from me?

My eyes were getting bleary, but I could've sworn the ceiling was moving. No, Hess was just dragging me back into the stall, I realized, as my eyes fluttered shut.

Someone was shaking me again. I opened my eyes, watching the lines of the ceiling sway back and forth, waiting for them to refocus. Then more lines started appearing. My eyes must be really fucked up because they weren't even straight-

I wasn't shaking. The world was.

I pushed myself up, the ground and the sharp pain in my ankle working against me. It felt sprained, so I tried not to put too much weight on it. The middle of an earthquake was not the best time to practice balancing on one foot.

As if the day couldn't get any worse, Hess had done something to jam the stall's lock. I glanced at the ceiling uncertainly, larger cracks forming now. Weren't earthquakes supposed to be under a minute? I banged my fists on the door. "Help! Someone get me out of here!"

Oh god. Oh god! I was going to die here!

A slab of concrete fell, crushing the toilet. "Sophia! Emma! Help me!" The shaking got worse, dragging me back down to the floor. "I'll do anything! Fuck! Emma! Don't leave me here!" My voice sounded hoarse to me now.

There was no one out there. The thought made my skin go cold. I heard a deep, booming sound in the distance, a building collapsing under its own weight. Maybe the gym. Maybe a part of Winslow falling to pieces. More cracks, more and more and more cracks spreading, branching across ceiling and floor, like a hand squeezing an egg.

I survived my mom. I survived the goddamn _locker_. I didn't want to die here. Because that meant Hess was right. That was letting Hess _win._

Hess was going to win!

 _Fuck_ her! _Fuck_ that!

Then the world just…stopped. It was too silent, too still to be real. No desperation, anger, discontent. Nothing except them.

They were vast, incomprehensibly vast, larger than anything. In twos and threes they floated together, soaring through the void at impossible speeds. Away. Further and further from-

And I was back in the stall, staring at the door, feeling the rhythm and rumble of the earth.

My hand moved of its own volition, palm touching the door. Something inside me stirred. Something primal and raw that I didn't know existed.

The door shattered like glass.

A snarl erupted from my throat, a beastial noise and I didn't know I was capable of, like a wolf celebrating victory. I dragged myself out of the stall as another piece of the roof broke down. Somehow, I knew the building was close to complete breakdown and the pain in my leg hadn't gone away. No way I could walk my way out of here in time.

The ground started opening, forming an ever growing chasm between me and the washroom door, forcing me back and back and _back_ until I had no more room to go back. I swear, whatever god out there better fix his karmic scale because I was getting tired of this _bullshit_.

Then my body started to shake uncontrollably. Too fast to be a result of the earthquake, to be anything _human_ really.

Then there was room behind me. And I was falling out of the building.

Fuck my life.

I held out a hand in front of me and-

Why wasn't I dead?

"Are you alright, Miss?" someone asked.

I lifted my head from the ground to see a man with a red 'v' on his chest. No, not a man. A cape. _Velocity_ , my mind instantly supplied.

"Uh, I-I t-think so?" I stuttered. "S-sprained my a-ankle."

"Right," he said, lifting me up. "Hold on, I'm getting you out of here."

Our surroundings blurred a little as Velocity took off. He was a manipulator of some sort, capable of changing states so that time and physics worked differently for him.

There was a loud roar in the distance. The earthquake grew stronger, strong enough to break the Richter scale, my mind said. I turned my eyes to where it was all coming from, to the epicenter and I-

There it was. Ten feet long, over forty-five feet tall, made of gray leather and cooled magma, of obsidian and death. Endbringer. The _First_ Endbringer.

Behemoth.

Streaks of light were flying just outside of Behemoth's kill radius. The Hero-Killer was notorious for his superlative control over energy. All of it, from kinetic to magnetic to radiation. What was worse, he bypassed the Manton limitation completely. Get close enough to him and he cooked you instantaneously from the inside-out.

I spotted the distinct form of Legend among them, noticeable even in the midst of the colors, the very essence of the Protectorate. He was the brightest thing in the air. Eidolon and Alexandria would be here too. The Triumvirate were always the first responders in an Endbringer fight, but there were too few capes here, I realized, my heart sinking. They wouldn't be able to do enough damage until there wasn't a city worth mentioning.

Leviathan would drown cities. Simurgh would turn people against the world. But Behemoth? Behemoth was an unstoppable force of death and destruction. There was a reason they called him Hero-Killer.

After hours and hours of fighting where one in every two capes died, he'd end with turning cities into irradiated wastelands. Even now, he was cooking Brockton Bay slowly, like stew.

He didn't need Leviathan's speed or Simurgh's cunning. He was just really, _really_ tough. Dropping the sun on him probably wouldn't hurt him. I think he'd even enjoy it even.

There was a bright flash. A glowing golden man appeared before the Endbringer, his lack of fear apparent even in the distance. No, _the_ Golden Man.

Scion was here.

Ironic really, that the first cape called himself Scion. Or maybe it was humility? A reminder of sorts?

Beams of golden light shot out from his hand, each unerring, each actually hurting the Behemoth, vaporizing chunks of flesh large enough for a car to fit in. The holes were only growing larger, wider, deeper by the second.

Behemoth roared again, not in defiance, not in challenge, but in _pain_. Hurt you son of a bitch.

He roared again and I felt a ripple in the air. A wave of high frequency vibrations. No. A pulse.

An electromagnetic pulse.

Then Behemoth disappeared beneath the earth and Scion disappeared in a flash of light.

On the bright side, no more school. Literally.

 **AN: As a story, this will take place almost exclusively within Brockton Bay. Don't expect to see a save the world plotline here.**

 **Thanks to NuScorpii, my beta reader and the guy that makes sure my characters don't accidentally suffer from multiple personality disorder. Thanks to VereorNox, my other beta reader who brainstorms ideas with me, makes sure my ideas are canon consistent...or as consistent as it can be with an AU story, and is my go-to guy for esoteric worm-verse facts.**

 **I would be remiss in not mentioning three authors and works in particular which inspired me to write for this fandom. Notes' Cenotaph series, ThinkerSix's Weaver Nine and Helian05's Nursing a Grudge.**


	2. Ruin-02: A mask and a power

**Chapter 2: A mask and a power**

A few seconds after Behemoth disappeared, Velocity dropped me off at corner of 6th and Rosemary. It was a few blocks away from Winslow, or more importantly, a few blocks closer to my home.

Home. What had happened to it? What had happened to Dad? Did he make it out in time? Anyone who visited it would know that it wasn't the best of structures to hold up in an earthquake. The floorboards and stairs leading to the door from outside were old and in some cases, rotting. I suspected there were termites too, eating away at its foundation. It would've remained standing for maybe fifteen seconds before crashing. Was that enough-

"Are you alright, Miss?" Velocity asked, peering at my face.

I flushed. I hadn't realized he was still there. "F-fine. Just worried about my dad," I said, mumbling the last part.

He smiled. "I've never been in an Endbringer fight, but they're telling me that this is one of the better days. Scion arrived pretty fast this time. I think he might have broken his personal record," he said.

"Velocity, rendezvous with the Protectorate ENE at A-14," his armband blared in monotone. The armband must have been tinkertech. Nothing electronic otherwise could've survived that EMP in the end.

"Sorry, I wish I could stay longer to chat, but duty calls," he said, nodding to me. He disappeared in a blur, moving even faster than when he had carried me. It took a few seconds before I could no longer track him by the vibrations of his feet.

I frowned, looking at my hands. I was a parahuman. I was a _parahuman_! In your face, Hess.

I felt the beginnings of a smile creep up on me and I jumped-

SHIT!

Right, my ankle was still sprained. I don't think it was broken, because I shouldn't have been able to jump. Or move my toes. I wiggled them just to be sure. Yup, not broken.

Not my finest moment, but I think I was allowed some leeway. I was going to be hero after all! I could be part of the Protectorate, maybe even meet Alexandria! This was going to be awesome. Best of all, no more school meant I didn't have to deal with anymore bullshit from Hess and Emma!

I was _free_!

Grinning, I started to limp back to my home. At the rate I was going, it would take me the better part of the day.

What were my powers though? I had, so far, exploded a bathroom stall's door, phased through a wall...somehow, stopped myself from become a splat on the ground, _sensed_ the strength of earthquakes, the EMP and _now_ I was able to track Velocity, scratch that anything, by their vibrations. Was that my power? Vibrations? It didn't explain the door, the wall and the not-dying part. Or...well, I suppose blowing up the door could be done with vibrations. Theoretically.

I spied a pebble that was lying by my foot and glanced around to make sure nobody was paying attention to me, before "pushing" the pebble away from me as hard as I could.

I blinked at the empty space it used to occupy, then looked around. It wasn't anywhere in sight. It was...very far, my mind told me. Maybe one and a half blocks away if I had to guess.

I could even sense things through walls, debris and just about any physical obstacle I could see. In some cases, the vibrations were _more_ receptive because of them.

As for the not dying part, falling was just basically turning potential energy into kinetic energy, according to my admittedly hazy memories of science class. That should fall under vibrations too right? And going through the walls...I wasn't really sure how that worked. Maybe it was just a second power. Maybe not. Did that happen a lot? In any case, I'd have to test it out later.

"...thank Scion-" Did they already know about- "...quick-" Behemoth's retreat? The Endbringer- "...move the-" shelters _were_ built- "...I can't-" with several precautions in mind. I- "...terrible-" could see some form of communication- "...going to-" such as radios- "...do with-" surviving the EMP. "...why-" WHY IS EVERYONE- "...here-" TALKING SO LOUD?

I scanned the area around me and nobody was particularly close. I _shouldn't_ be able to hear them.

It had to be my powers acting up then. My power had to do with vibrations, let me...not really see so much much as perceive them. I could probably manipulate them too, and right now, my power was pulling all the sound waves towards me. _When did it start doing that?_ I thought with a flash of irritation.

I put a stop to that. It was too loud, too much noise, like trying to listen in on everything in the middle of a crowd. I could barely hear myself think, much less make out anything useful from all the racket.

If I controlled it though, if I _focused_ on just one of them, I might be able to find some use for it…

"...Claire! Baby! Oh god, please be alright," a man said, followed by a thud and the sound of many moving things.

I could only sense one body out in the open though. Was someone trapped under one of the fallen buildings? My senses told me the man was somewhere to my right, but not how far he was. I did, however, notice that there was a lot more open space thirty, maybe thirty five yards in that direction. That would probably be where it was.

I changed courses. This was what being a hero was about. Helping people, saving people! And...if it was me in there, I know Dad would be crushed. After Mom died, he was as good as catatonic, functioning just enough to kill himself slowly. I don't think he'd survive if he lost me.

I didn't want anyone seeing that happen to someone they loved. Not if I could do something about it.

I found the man in question after limping for _far_ too long. Thank you very fucking much for that, Hess. The man was still digging ineffectively through what looked like the remains of his house. "Hey," I said.

He kept digging.

"Hey!"

He looked up, his eyes wide and wild, streaks of dust and grime covering him.

"Are you okay?" Stupid, stupid Taylor. Of course he isn't! The man just had his home fall on his daughter! "Do you need some help?" I added quickly.

"M-my daughter, Claire! S-she was i-inside when the buildings started falling! I d-don't know where she is!"

I nodded. "Take it easy. Give me a moment to look at what we have, alright? Maybe I can figure it out."

He looked at me skeptically.

"Two minutes," I said, injecting confidence I didn't really have into my words. "Give me a chance." I hope this worked.

The thing about people who thought they were about to lose someone? They got desperate and desperation led to praying for miracles, doing crazy things and taking leaps of faith with a stranger. He just needed one more push.

"I can...I can help." I think. "Trust me," I said, looking him in the eye and smiling softly, trying to look reassuring. "What could it hurt?"

"O-okay. Two minutes," he said, standing aside.

Holy shit, it worked! He _trusted_ me, which was saying plenty since _I_ barely trusted myself. Well, I couldn't let him down now!

I stood along the boundary between ruins and street, making a show of looking around intently, even going as far as tapping my chin and making vague sounds of confidence. I reached out with more power and sensed wave after wave seeping through the wreckage. "How old is Claire?"

"S-seven."

The bits of information my waves were giving me started to add up as a mental picture of what was underneath all of the rubble began to appear. I found a small, human-shaped form which could only be the girl, Claire, near the top of the pile. She seemed to be breathing still, or so I surmised from the faint movement of her chest. The man had been digging on the wrong side all this time.

"What is it? Did you find something?" he asked, hopeful.

"Sir, it's your lucky day. I'm reasonably confident I know where she is." I pointed to the other side. "We should start over there. That's our best bet. She's still breathing I think."

There was a frantic energy to his movements, like a man who was clinging onto the last vestiges of his life. It took me awhile to join him in digging.

"One, two, three, lift!" I said as we pushed a steel beam to the side. I flinched a little, some pressure inadvertently falling on my injured foot.

"Claire!" The dad hugged his daughter tightly, tears streaming down his chest.

"Daddy," she said in a small voice, little hands grasping him tightly.

I felt awkward, like a piece of furniture out of place and took a step back to give them this moment. They reminded me of myself, a long time ago.

"Um, sir? I don't want to intrude, but you should get yourself and Claire-" I smiled at the girl, "-looked over at the hospital. There's one nearby, I believe. Brockton Bay General?"

The man nodded, rushing over to me. "I know where it is. I...how can I thank you enough for giving my daughter back to me?" Tears streamed down his cheek, mixing with the dust to form brown streaks on his face. Almost like facepaint.

I smiled and shook my head at him. "I didn't give her back to you. You took her back yourself."

"But you told me where to look!" the man insisted. "How did you know where? How did you know she was alive?"

"I-" I closed my mouth and frowned. Great job Taylor. First day on the job and you're already blowing the secret identity thing. How did I explain this to him without mentioning my powers? Could I claim it was training I got from earthquake management or volunteering with a first responder group? Would he even buy it?

"You don't have to tell me, i-if you don't want to," the man said. "You helped a total stranger like me. You don't owe me anything."

"Thanks," I said. Should I introduce myself?

"I'm George," he said, repositioning so that he was carrying his daughter with one arm and the other was extended towards me.

I guess it would be rude not to at this point. "I'm Taylor," I said, shaking it.

"I won't tell anyone about this," he said, hesitantly. "That is, unless you want me to?"

I laughed. "I'd rather you didn't. I'm a cape, or at least, I think I am?" I looked myself over uncertainly. "I'm not really sure what I do yet. First day for me really, and I'm already blowing the whole secret identity thing."

"You'll be a great hero," George said, sounding more assured than I had ever been during our entire conversation.

My cheeks warmed up a little. "What makes you so sure?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"You helped a complete stranger right after an Endbringer attack," he said. "Isn't that proof enough?"

Was it really? I shrugged. "It's what anyone would have done."

He turned halfway before hesitating. "Taylor, I know this isn't much, but there's a costume shop nearby. I go there every year to shop for Halloween. Maybe you'll find something you like over there? Or at least, just temporarily."

Now there's an idea. "That sounds good to me." I committed to memory the directions he gave me.

"Good luck, Taylor," George said. "And, stay safe alright? The world needs good people like you."

"Goodbye George, Claire," I said, waving. Claire waved back as her dad began to walk away.

The costume shop was four blocks further east according to George. By foot, it would take me six minutes. By _injured_ foot, it would take half an hour. Not to mention every step I took in that direction was one I had to walk back to get home. This was assuming the shop hadn't fallen over.

A secret identity was important though, wasn't it? There had to be a reason why most capes did it, New Wave notwithstanding. I could team up with New Wave if it really bothered me. I was down with the whole public accountability thing. But then I'd have to tell my dad...to be honest, that thought didn't appeal to me much. I'd be better off with the mask for now. I could decide what kind of cape I wanted to be later.

That in mind, I hobbled my way towards the costume shop. I tried to practice more with my sensory powers, but I couldn't push the range much farther really. I stuck to eavesdropping on random conversations, but that grew boring quickly. Not to mention I didn't feel comfortable listening in on other people like that. I was planning to be a hero, not an NSA agent.

The shop was still standing, surprisingly. And thankfully. I would hate to have gone out of my way for nothing.

I entered through the door despite the display window having shattered already. That was just being civilized.

The store was stocked with masquerade gowns and paraphernalia instead of Halloween costumes. Most of said gowns were on the floor now, but that wasn't what I was interested in. I turned to my left and took a few steps forward, perusing the assorted masks of all shapes, shades and sizes.

"What do you want?" a gruff voice asked.

I jumped, spinning around to see a man behind the counter, a shotgun in hand though not pointed at me. From the way he fingered it, it was clear that could change at a moment's notice.

"Can I have a mask?" I asked.

He blinked at me. "What," he said in a deadpan voice.

"Yeah, one of those paper ones." I pointed to a few I had been looking at earlier.

He shifted his gaze from me to the masks and back to me. "Is...is that all?" The man was clearly surprised. Why, I wasn't quite sure.

"Um, yes? Should I be buying something else?" Maybe he wasn't used to just selling masks without a costume? "I don't have that much money on me, but I'm just looking for a mask. Uh, a cheap one will do."

The man stepped out from behind the counter and I took a step back in response. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "Let me help you pick one out then," he said, before reaching for something in his pockets. It was a compact mirror, the sort girls would use while touching up their makeup. "Try some on. You can use this to see what you look like."

"Oh, um, thanks," I said, taking the offered mirror.

"I used to have a full length one, but with Behemoth and everything…" He shrugged. "What can you do, eh?"

I nodded politely then turned my eyes back to the assortment of masks. I'd probably want a full mask instead of those things that only covered your eyes. I had no cape costume to speak of, so I might as well cover my face as much as I could.

I picked up a blue mask that looked to be the same hue as a police officer's uniform. It felt appropriate for some reason.

I turned my head from side to side, looking at myself in the mirror. It did its job and I didn't care much for the aesthetics of it. "How much for this one?" I asked.

"Keep it."

I gave the man an odd look. Which he couldn't see because I had a mask on. Right. I took off the mask and continued to give the man the look.

"Money won't mean much for the next few months," the shopkeeper said. "Do you know what happens to a city after a Behemoth attack?"

I...I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. I just shook my head.

"In the short term, anarchy. Looting, rioting, theft and all kinds of crazy is about to go down."

"The PRT will take care of it," I told him. "I'm sure things will work out fine in the end." I mean, this wasn't the worst of the attacks. Behemoth had been driven back pretty quickly by the heroes and Scion. Surely that was a point in our favor?

He snorted. "You'll see. By tonight, there'll be blood on the streets." He glanced out the empty space where his display window had been. "You'd best get to some shelter before dark."

I frowned at him and placed the mask back on. "I can take care of myself, you know." I _was_ a cape. A new one, admittedly, but one nonetheless. What did a cape need? Powers? A mask? Check and check.

"No, not here, not this." He walked back to behind his counter. "My advice, leave the city if you can."

"And if I can't?"

He grimaced. "Be ready for anything."


	3. Ruin-Interlude: Aftermath (Eidolon)

**Interlude: Aftermath (Eidolon)**

The PRT Headquarters appeared a dull green to him, which was the best he could hope for. It meant there was minimal radiation left there by Behemoth. Well, as minimal as you could get when dealing with an Endbringer. A few waves of his hand reduced it to much more appropriate levels.

There was some structural damage as well, one of his minor thinker powers told him, but it wasn't a pressing concern. The local bureaucracy could handle it once they'd been informed.

David landed on the helipad of the Headquarters and took a moment to look out at the city of Brockton Bay. He had spent the better part of the day bringing radiation levels down in PRT camps across the city, and whatever time spent in transit doubled as an opportunity to assess the state of the city.

The conversation that was about to come...he did not look forward to it. Most people held that the Endbringer fights were the hardest parts. Personally, he thought that it was always in the aftermath where the hard choices had to be made.

Like whether or not another city had to be abandoned. Like whether or not they had to concede defeat. Like whether or not an Endbringer had permanently pushed back humanity _again_!

These fights, this strategy of trying not to lose, was unsustainable.

His fists clenched. His agent responded, dropping powers as new ones took their place. A shaker power that could annihilate half the city; a thinker power that let him see the weak points of his adversary; a blaster power to rival Legend on his best days...all of it useless! Useless against that son of a bitch Leviathan, against the goddamned Simurgh, against fucking Behemoth!

This...this wasn't the legacy he wanted to leave the world.

Doctor Mother told him they were doing all that they could. That in the end, their cause would prevail. That this action or that action would increase the odds of their final victory.

 _Some victory_ , he thought, finally willing himself to move. It would be pyrrhic at best, this "victory" of theirs and for David, that was no victory at all.

He let his powers slip away again. There'd be no need for them tonight. Others began to manifest immediately in the vacuum that they left. An aerokinetic power for mobility, a future thinker power that would let him construct accurate models so long as he could feed it information, a social thinker power that allowed him to win an Oscar without ever having to star in a film...

David found himself in a room with Alexandria and Legend soon enough. His social thinker power kicked into overdrive as it presented various diplomatic strategies, told him of the current group dynamics, advised him how to stand, smile, sit, speak...how easy it'd be to seduce them.

Well, Legend at least. Alexandria's ice was too cold even for his power to crack. She'd also see right through him in an instant.

David had tried before.

"Chief Deputy Director Costa-Brown has asked for the Triumvirate's opinion on the Brockton Bay question," Alexandria began, blatantly placing a recording device in the table between them.

Ah, so they were here in _that_ capacity.

 _Seize the initiative_ , his powers told him. _Set the tone of the discourse. Dictate the path it will follow and what you want will be yours._

David smirked. Alexandria raised a brow. Legend tilted his head.

"I'll begin then," David said. _Use the facts. They're on your side._ "From a pragmatic point of view," Alexandria would love that, "this is one of the best fights we've had not just against Behemoth, but against any Endbringer."

"It wasn't so much our fight as it was Scion's," Legend mumbled.

 _Counterpoint. Don't let the pessimism poison your words. You know Legend, how he thinks, what he wants to hear…'Honor the sacrifices, name them. Make him believe they died for something.'_

"Does it really matter who landed the final blow, my friend?" David said, keeping his tone somber. "We lost four capes today: Dauntless, Glory Girl, Kid Win and Stormtiger. I would like to say only four, but every loss is a loss of someone who gave their life in service of a greater cause."

 _Empathize_.

"I don't want to make light of this loss," he said, "but let us not forget it could have been much worse. Let us not forget it _should_ have been much worse, on any other day. But today is a victory. Behemoth was driven off with the lowest casualties _in years_. Whether you look at it in percentage or in absolute numbers, for civilians or capes, that is indisputable fact."

 _Drive home the point._

"The math doesn't lie my friends."

Legend nodded slowly. Alexandria rolled her eyes. David smirked, though he didn't show it.

"Interesting that you bring up numbers," Alexandria said, "considering we don't have them yet."

 _Your powers._

"My powers can do many things. You know that," David said, a chiding tone underlining his words, barely perceptible unless you had had enhanced senses. Like Alexandria.

"The damage to the city though..." Legend trailed off.

"Marun Field, Iran. Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela. Cologne, Germany. Shanghai, China," he listed off. "Each one a target of Behemoth, each one suffered much worse. My friends," he smiled softly, "what we have here is an unprecedented opportunity."

 _Legend. Appeal to ideals, morale, the good of the people._

"Think of the people who live here. If not them, then of the capes that gave their lives so that their people might live. Villains and heroes united today under one cause: humanity. Their sacrifices brought us victory. Let us turn this victory, this city, into a monument of humanity's strength. A shining beacon for the world to look towards."

He paused for an appropriate amount of time for dramatic effect, looking Legend in the eye. _Exactly 2.31 seconds._

"Let us _make_ the people see our resolve. They will say, 'We stand together and we are not afraid'."

 _Alexandria. Appeal to public perception of the Protectorate, the greater good, the potential backlash of abandoning another city._

"Do we really want to send a message of weakness to our allies, our subordinates and the public?" he asked, peering at her. "Brockton Bay is not in the best of shape, yes, but it's still habitable. Now, more than ever, we need the people to stand behind the message of the Protectorate and-"

"You've made your point, Eidolon. Director Costa-Brown, it is in the Triumvirate's opinion that it is in the United States' interest to rebuild Brockton Bay," Alexandria said before turning back to David. "Since you seem to know so much about the city, why don't you give us the rundown of the situation?"

"Gladly," David said. "First and foremost, the electromagnetic pulse that Behemoth released before he was driven off. It was powerful enough to fry everything it touched, aside from a few crude radios that were in the Endbringer shelters. The locals have no means of communication with the outside world." While he waited for his other thinker power to finish its predictions, he dropped his social thinker power. The most likely possibility was that "Several thousand people will die in the coming weeks because of the lack of medical equipment."

Alexandria sat down. "You factored in Panacea in your models?"

"Yes," he said. "Also included were victims of gang violence, those suffering or will suffer from radiation poisoning as a result of staying in high concentration areas or who drink contaminated water sources-"

"I get the point. You were thorough."

Eidolon nodded.

"What's this about high concentration areas?" Legend asked, brows scrunched together.

"Behemoth's attack pattern deviated from normal," David's thinker power said. "Instead of soaking the entire city with the same amount of radiation, he instead chose to focus it on certain areas. Of particular note are the underground reservoir and a section of Downtown. All other areas are seemingly random or of no importance strategically."

"Finally," he continued, "the fires and earthquakes combined have collapsed thirty-six percent of all buildings. Another forty-one percent are in need of structural repairs within the week if they are to be saved and the remaining twenty-three percent suffer from light to moderate damage. These can be safely ignored for a year before posing a threat to their inhabitants."

"Should we expect tsunamis? Secondary tremors?" Legend asked.

"I do not believe so," David said.

"We'll need to get word to the locals about the water supply situation," Alexandria said. "How exactly is this city salvageable again?"

"I have a solution for that, though it will take time," he said. "I will remain here for two weeks. My powers are uniquely suited to reversing Behemoth's damage to the long term sustainability of this region."

Alexandria and Legend shared a look. "Eidolon, are you sure about this?" Legend asked. "What about Houston? Can they spare you for that long?"

"Exalt is a capable hero who has served with distinction before," he said, sighing. He sank into his chair wearily. "A word in private, please?"

Alexandria shut off the recording device.

"We all know about my...condition," he said. "I'm getting weaker."

"You're still the strongest among us," Legend argued.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's happening," David said. "Sooner or later, the Doctor will ask me to step down." All his thinker powers told him so. There was no point denying the truth when it was right in your face. "I have a year, maybe two if I'm lucky."

"She wouldn't," Legend said. "We need you."

"Eidolon's right," Alexandria said. Legend looked at her, appalled. "His booster shots have been losing their effectiveness. At some point, the opportunity costs of giving him the shots will outweigh the benefits."

"When that happens, I will have to step down from the Protectorate and cease participation in Endbringer attacks," David said, the words almost dying in his throat, but he endured. "I...I've made peace with that."

A lie.

"My strength will be needed for the fight that matters. The only fight that matters."

All of them _matter_!

"Helping here will only drain your power faster," Alexandria said.

"As opposed to using it up during an Endbringer fight, where we lose anyways?" David countered. "Here I can save lives. I can make a real difference." This city will be my legacy.

"You do make a difference," Legend said. "We've saved more people than we can count-"

"Yet, two perish for each one we save. I can't walk away from these people, not when I _know_ I could save them." An uneasy silence loomed over the room like a headman's axe. "I'm not like you, Legend. People see me and they think 'now that's a powerful cape'. They see me as a hero now, yes. But do they think I'm a good person? I know I don't."

He turned to Alexandria. "Of the four of us who began the Protectorate, you were always the smartest. If humanity survives, it will be in no small part because of your actions. Can the same be said of me, now that my power has started to bleed away? Who knows if I will even be strong enough to fight when the time comes."

He sighed. "There are other reasons too. I could tell you my presence will be a stabilizing influence. I don't mean to brag, but mere word of my presence, of any of us really, would be enough to stop half the expected crime in the city. I could tell you that with Behemoth's quick retreat, it's likely he failed to kill his target. Staying here will allow me to look through things more closely. Maybe catch something we missed."

Alexandria didn't respond. Not right away. Eventually, she started up the recording again. "After discussing the matter, the Triumvirate also feels that the United States is best served by leaving one of us here on a temporary basis. Eidolon is uniquely qualified to deal with the various problems that will soon crop up here. However, his absence from Houston will be noticed. I recommend that the capes that are being transferred to Brockton Bay be stationed there until Eidolon can return to his city." Then she shut it off again.

"If that's all?" Legend asked, glancing at his watch. "I'd like to return to my family before the night is completely spent." He stood, but he hesitated to leave right away.

Then he hugged David.

David blinked.

"Despite all your doubts, you do matter, Eidolon. You make a difference in this world for the better."

"...Thank you."

Legend nodded to the two of them and left.

"Eidolon?"

"Yes, Alexandria?"

"The next time you use that thinker power of yours on me, I'm knocking your teeth out."

"Yes, Alexandria." There was a pause. "Alexandria?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you know?" he asked.

She snorted. "You talk differently. I know how charming you normally are, David."

Eidolon smiled. Smart girl.


	4. Ruin-03: My turn

**Chapter 3: "My turn."**

I sensed it before I saw it. My vibration sense told me that my home wasn't standing anymore. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach and my breathing felt heavy, almost tedious. From afar, I still couldn't get a clear picture of what was buried underneath it.

Just because it had collapsed didn't mean Dad was caught by it. I mean, logically, he was probably at the Dockworker Association's office when the earthquake started. That...didn't really make me feel better. There was still a chance he had gone home early or forgot to get something or…oh god, what if I never see him again? What would I do if-

I exhaled, letting go of the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Panicking won't do you any good right now, Taylor. Find out what happened to Dad first. Stay strong," I murmured. "I'm a hero. I can do this."

The entire street was deserted and half the houses were obviously damaged, if not already a heap of rubble. The neighbors were at the Endbringer shelters probably, or at the PRT camps.

The sun was just about to set when I finally made it to my home. What was left of it that is. I crossed my fingers.

Please don't be dead, Dad.

I reached out with my powers, waiting as the oscillations permeated everything, waiting as an image began to form in my head. Waiting.

Waiting.

I sighed.

Good news, he wasn't here. Bad news, he _wasn't_ here.

He could be anywhere in the city right now! Was he still in his office? Was he hurt, or worse? Where did I even begin looking and to top it all off my _ankle_ was swelling up. Goddamn you ankle, work with me here!

I hugged my knees.

What If I never saw Dad again? What if I never found out what happened to him?

I think…I think not knowing scared me more than anything else. If I knew, I knew. I could deal with it, cope. Survive. But not knowing meant I was in limbo. How could I move on if I wasn't sure Dad was gone? How could I live with myself if he was still out there and I didn't bother looking?

The faint sound of a gunshot rang in the air.

 _By tonight, there'll be blood on the streets_. The words echoed in my head solemnly. _Be ready for anything_.

I looked up, wiping my cheeks with my right sleeve. Darkness had fallen, and tonight...tonight the moonlight was different. Every corner was hiding a gangbanger or rapist, every alley a drug dealer. It was as if the moon was reflecting the city's mood. Malevolent.

 _Sinister._

It wasn't a good idea to sleep here, out in the open. It hadn't been safe before Behemoth, it sure as hell wouldn't be now.

I _could_ sneak into one of the neighbor's houses and spend the night there, but I knew better. A building didn't simply survive Behemoth's earthquake without damage. Just because it wasn't obvious didn't mean it wasn't there. My powers managed to save me at school, but I didn't want to risk having yet another building try to kill me today.

Would my powers even work while I was asleep? I mean, I didn't feel any tougher, so I was pretty a falling building would still kill me in my sleep.

There was a playground nearby, but was that any improvement over just staying here?

The closest Endbringer shelter was a mile away if I remembered correctly. Too far for me to walk. Every moment that passed left me more drained. The very act of breathing seemed to sap my energy. And my damned _ankle_ still hurt.

Emma, Madison, Hess, wherever you guys are, I hope you're having a _shitty_ night.

There was a manhole nearby. Maybe I could try the sewers...but if my ankle didn't get better by morning, I would be stuck there. It would be impossible for anyone to find me down there, so not a great choice either.

Screw it. There were no good options for me and if I stayed here any longer I was going to fall asleep on the spot. I might as well just spend the night in one of the houses, hope that they didn't fall on me. Or at least, that my sixth sense would give me some sort of warning before I was reduced to a pancake.

I did manage to vibrate my way through a wall. I could probably vibrate my way out of a house...

Yeah...just to be safe, I would be sleeping by the door.

The house I chose had hardwood floors. I groaned. This was not going to be fun for me.

Well, since I was here, I might as well see if I could do something about my leg. And maybe get something to eat. I only managed to eat half my lunch earlier thanks to - yup, you guessed it - fucking Hess.

Even after school, all my problems seem to end up back with her. What a pain in the ass.

The fridge had food thankfully. Enough for me to make a sandwich.

It didn't feel right to just take Mrs. Bridge's food like this. Technically, I was stealing, but- was that ham? And the freezer had an ice pack. Nice! It wasn't that cool anymore, with the fridge being broken, but it was better than just leaving my ankle alone.

I made sure I had everything I needed within arm's reach before settling down on the floor and removing my shoes. My ankle exploded immediately, throbbing bright red and expanding like an inflatable plush toy.

Another gunshot.

I tensed, straining my ears and my vibration sense. It didn't sound nearby.

I set aside my mask, ate my sandwich and drowned it with some juice, all the while remaining perfectly aware of my surroundings. My vibrations, they were everywhere, telling me things, leaving faint glimpses in my mind.

I opened my eyes blearily. When had I fallen asleep? I rubbed my eyes, noting that I was still propped up against the door. My neck felt like tighter than a deadman's noose and my back ached in places I never imagined it could. A half eaten sandwich rested on my dusty lap. The juice was gone though, knocked over in my sleep.

The swelling had gone down during the night and it felt a bit more flexible now. Oh and also, I wasn't dead. So that was a definite plus.

I threw the sandwich away and made myself a new one with the food leftover. I didn't want to be wasteful, especially with other people's food, but food poisoning was not a pleasant experience.

I paused, looking at my new sandwich guiltily. This wasn't my food or my house. It wasn't right for me just to take this stuff. The food was going to spoil anyway though. Whoever lived here was probably in the shelters and unlikely to come back to it until everything in the fridge had gone bad.

That didn't make it right...but I was _really_ hungry.

I stepped out the door with my sandwich in one hand and mask in the other, and watched the ruins of my home. If Dad was okay, he'd be out looking for me. Eventually he'd find his way here.

And is he wasn't okay? I couldn't wait here forever.

If I left now, I might never see him again.

There was no guarantee of seeing him either if I stayed.

I had a better chance here than anywhere else. There was enough food in the fridge for two days. I'd wait that long, and if he didn't come, I'd start searching the shelters and the hospitals.

Meanwhile, I could do some tests with my powers. There was no one around to see and I'd know they were there before they saw me.

As far as I could tell, my power was vibrokinesis, which was PHO talk for "does stuff with vibrations". Now it was just a question of what my limitations were.

First off, phasing. I finished my sandwich and touched the door behind me, concentrating on trying to make my arm shake. Which it did, but it felt...different from back at school. It didn't feel so much as my body vibrating faster as just waves of vibrations affecting it from the outside. Trying to push it past the door confirmed it.

I frowned. Maybe I had to do my whole body then? There was no reason for it to work this time, but powers gave science and reason the middle finger all the time. No harm in trying it.

I concentrated on doing the same thing I did to my hand to my body, and again the shaking felt wrong. I could feel the vibrations around me becoming erratic, almost omnidirectional, and even the ground started to shake a little as I poured every ounce of power I could into the act. I took a step towards the door, which ended up with me introducing my knee to it.

Great. Both my legs now hurt. Yay, equality.

So I couldn't phase with vibrations, and I didn't feel like I had a second power to use. That was strange. Was it even possible for powers to disappear?

Could I still make doors go poof? I moved to touch the door again, but stopped at the last moment. I already took their food, I wasn't about to break their door on top of it.

I headed for my house, scanning it for a loose piece of wood to test my powers on. I found one soon enough and placed my palm flat along its surface. I tried to vibrate it too and again it felt wrong. The vibrations weren't happening in the material itself, but in the air around it.

What was I missing here?

Oh, right. I hope you _die_ in _hellfire_ , Hess.

No, that wasn't it.

Maybe I had to summon that primal feeling? How did you even control for that?

Or maybe that was the point. I _had_ to lose control for that to work. If that were true, I would be _pissed_. It was like the universe was trying to tell me Hess was right about Canary.

Someone was coming. I hid my mask in my backpocket. Then I stood up, dusted my hands off and tried to look-

"Dad? Dad!"

"Taylor!" We ran towards each other. Well, he was running, I was hobbling briskly.

I don't know how long were stood there embracing each other, but after a while, he pulled away. "When I heard that Behemoth was gone I rushed to Winslow but you weren't there and I tried Emma's place because I thought maybe Alan had come to get you two but you weren't there either and-" He paused, looking me over, keeping his grasp firm like he was afraid I'd turn dissipate into air if he slacked.

"No, I spent the night here, Dad. What about you though? I thought you'd died!" My cheeks were wet and warm. "I was w-waiting here all day yesterday and when you didn't show up I-I thought something happened to you because of the gunshots."

He wiped away my tears with his hands, the coarseness of his skin contrasting with mine. "It's going to take more than an Endbringer to get rid of me, Taylor," he said softly, steering me closer.

"You're all I have left, Dad," I murmured into his chest.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised. I felt something hard and cool press into my back.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

I pulled away and glanced at his hand. "Why are you holding a crowbar?"

He didn't meet my eyes. "The city's getting dangerous."

"The city's always been dangerous." I knew. At the back of my head, a small voice would whisper it to me. But hearing it from my Dad too? Brockton Bay would never be the same again. I didn't like everything about my old life. Heck, I didn't like _most_ of my old life, but now the city felt so...alien to me, like coming home one day to find everything in the wrong place.

"Let's get you to the camps, Taylor," Dad said. "It might not be night anymore, but I'd feel better if you were there."

"Which PRT camp are you staying at?" I asked, keeping step with him.

"I'm not."

What. "What?"

He sighed. "I'm not staying at a PRT camp. A few of my guys got hurt real bad. We've got no way of moving them, not while the cars aren't working and I...I can't just leave them behind. They wouldn't last a day by themselves, not with all the gangs roaming around."

"The gangs?" I repeated, hearing the dread in my own voice. Had it really gotten that bad?

"People are scared, Taylor," Dad said. "There's not enough food to go around, even in the camps. The PRT is trying, but with the number of thugs running around? People are going to go hungry for weeks."

"They'd _eat_ other people?"

"Not now, but in a week? Anything could happen.." Dad grimaced. "Desperate people do things. Ugly things."

A cold chill called my spine its home. I stopped walking. "I'm going with you."

"You'll be safer with the PRT," Dad said, frowning. "Taylor, please-"

"I'm going with _you_ ," I repeated, stomping on my good foot, channeling every ounce of petulant teenage daughter I could muster. Dad would be safer with me. I was a hero. I could protect him.

"Tayl-"

"No Dad!" My sight started to blur slightly because of the tears. "Do you know how scared I w-was last night! I thought you were g-gone!" My words caught on my throat.

"I'm scared too," Dad said. "But I want you to be safe. It'll be easier on me." He grabbed me by the shoulders once more. "Please."

I pulled back, ripping myself from his touch. "What if we never see each other again?" He flinched. "You're all I have left. I'm not losing you too!"

"Don't you want to see Emma?" he asked, his tone bordering desperate.

My feet were suddenly _very_ interesting. "Not friends anymore," I mumbled.

"What?"

"Emma and I, we're not friends," I said, louder this time. "We...we haven't been for awhile."

"Did you get into fight? Was it over a boy or…" he trailed off and I shook my head. "I...Taylor, when did this happen?"

"Since I came back from summer camp, the one before high school started."

His jaw dropped. "A year?"

"And a half," I said.

We stood there, quietly, the gap between us seemed so much bigger than reality showed. "I...I didn't know."

"I never told you."

"Why?"

Because you were hung up over mom. Because you weren't there, not when it mattered. Because I couldn't stand the thought of breaking you ever more. Because you couldn't be mom. But I couldn't tell him, couldn't do that to him, so I just shook my head.

"Okay," he said. "Okay, you can come with me, if that's what you want." He glanced around, uncertainly. "Where did you stay last night?"

I pointed to the green one with the yellow mailbox that was always too much for my eyes. "Mrs. Bridge's house."

"Are any of the neighbor's here?" he asked, unslinging his backpack. It rattled from the movement, like metal odds and ends banging against each other. He started to move towards it. "Anyone in there? Anything worth taking?"

"No, no one. I...Dad are we...are we _looting_?"

"Only food and water and anything that'll help us survive."

"That's still stealing," I said. I tried not to judge my Dad, mostly because I'd done the same thing, but...most of what I lived by I learned from the heroes and from him.

"It's for the best," he said. "The city needs all the food it can get right now. Letting food like this go to waste, when people are killing each other for every scrap they can find...it's just as criminal. There aren't any right choices...not anymore."

God. This was really happening. The city was falling apart at the seams.

I followed after him. "Try to look for a backpack when we get inside," Dad said. "The more things we can bring, the better. Canned goods are priority along with any bottles of water. Don't get any tap though."

"What's wrong with tap?"

"Behemoth made it undrinkable. Something about radiation. The PRT was announcing it all over town last night," he said as we entered the house. "If you can find any tools, Swiss knives, hammers, wrenches, bring them with us. The more versatile the better."

It took us ten minutes to go through each house, mostly because looking for stuff with my powers was child's play. It would've gone faster if I was alone since knowing exactly where everything was allowed me to be efficient about things. Dad thought I was just really lucky. As it was, I'd tell him to go look in places I knew had less things so I could get what we came for without raising his suspicions.

I was good at this. It was like my powers made me destined to be a thief. I tried not to think about that.

We ate some apples that were about to go bad before heading out. Anything to stretch out our supplies really.

Dad and I didn't talk much on the way to camp. He didn't tell me where it was, probably scared that someone might overhear and try to follow us, but based on the general north-eastern direction we were walking in, I was guessing it was somewhere in the Dock. It made sense. Dad knew the Docks better than our own house. Most of his colleagues probably did too. It had plenty of open area, there were few enough buildings that might fall on them and they could turn furniture into a makeshift barricade. The only real problems were shelter and supplies. Not insurmountable.

Three hours in and my ankle started to swell again. It slowed us down considerably, but Dad never said anything, just gripped his crowbar tighter and started looking around more often.

People kept out of each other's way for the most part, which suited us just fine, but as the horizon started to go dark, so did people.

Like marching to a tune.

"We should be close," Dad said, peeking out of an alley.

There were more people here that I could sense. They seemed armed. A gang maybe? They were spread out in a line, forming a curtain of some sort. "Dad, we should go around. Double back. I think I hear someone," I whispered. "Might be following us."

"I don't want you to spend anymore time out here than you have to," Dad said. "It'll take you five minutes to get there by yourself."

By myself? "Dad, what are you saying?"

"If we get caught out, I want you to leave me behind."

"I can't do that!" I hissed. "Are you crazy?"

"It's my job to protect you, Taylor. Not the other way around. I'm your father and this is what a parent does. Let's go," he added hastily before I could answer.

What else could I do but follow after him.

I pulled on the sound waves of the gang members closest by, to listen in on them. "...hear something?"

"Yeah, over there! Call the boys in. We got one o' the cunts."

I felt my blood run cold. The curtain was closing in on us. If we could make it out of the alley we were in, we might have a chance to go unnoticed, but I couldn't push my ankle any further.

They caught us. Four in front, three behind. One had a gun tucked in his jeans. Dad stopped, raising his crowbar to try and scare them into looking for another target.

"We don't want any trouble," Dad said, shifting into a fighting stance. "Let us go and you can have our things."

"The girl too," one of the men grunted, smiling lecherously. The others laughed.

I could feel Dad's muscles tense from the miniscule changes in how my vibrations reacted. "Leave her out of this!" he snarled.

"Oooooh, this one's got spirit," another ganger said. "I bet he's tapped that before. A bit skinny, but you take what you can, am I right boys?" More laughter.

Anyone could see this wasn't going to end well. I dropped my bags and placed my mask on.

"The girl's go' a mask," the first one noted.

"Maybe she thinks this is a party?"

"We can make it one."

No more talking. It was hero time.

I stepped past Dad and raised both hands, powerful shockwaves pulsing out, pushing back everything in the alley. Trash, loose bricks and rocks rocketed forward, reaching their target in two seconds.

"Cape!" one managed to shout out in time before a brick knocked into his chest, sending him sprawling. He was alive, though I don't think he'd be standing anytime soon. One of them managed to get out of the way in time, but I'd trust my powers to tell me if he tried anything.

Three of the guys rushed us from behind, faster than I had anticipated. I could try blasting them away, but- no, Dad was too close. No time to reposition. Had to slow them down _now_.

I willed the vibrations around me to go crazy, slamming every which way. The ground shook. The air trembled. Each motion towards me was challenged. One of them fell on his ass, the slight shaking too much for him.

That was alright. I blasted them with a shockwave, they'd all end up in the same place - _away_ from my Dad.

Oh shit. The guy with the gun had drawn!

I pushed Dad behind me with a pulse and turned-

Bang!

Son of a bitch! The bullet smacked into my side and I _felt_ it. I wasn't bleeding though. My powers shielded me from the worst of the damage this time, but if his gun had been a higher caliber, I'd be dead.

There was silence after the shot.

The bullet tinkled as it hit the floor, its head flattened.

"My turn," I said, wincing, raising my hand.

He ran. All of them _ran_.

Dad was on the floor, staring up at me. Had he fallen when I did the mini-earthquake?

"What," he said, uncomprehending what he had just seen.

"Dad…" I didn't want him to find out this way. What do I say? What _could_ I say? He was always worrying about me. Would this make him feel better? Worse? "I'm a cape."


	5. Ruin-04: Cape girl

**Chapter 04: Cape girl**

"I'm a cape."

"Okay," Dad said. He blinked at me a few more times before glancing around at the scattered contents of our packs. My mini-earthquake had sent things flying all over the alley. Actually, earthquake wasn't the right word to describe what I had done. That implied that only the earth shook, which wasn't the case, not really. It was more like a barrier of frenzied vibrations surrounded me and why the heck wasn't Dad reacting!

"Okay? Is...is that it?"

"Give me a moment, it's a lot to take in," he said. "We should probably pick those up." He tilted his head towards the supplies still on the ground.

We took our time with it too. Anything to avoid mentioning the elephant in the room. There was only so much we could do to stretch it out though.

After forever, Dad finally broke the silence. "So you're a cape."

"Yeah," I said.

His face scrunched up. "When did this happen? How long have you been one?"

"I just found out. I triggered during the, uh, Behemoth attack. The school was falling apart all around me and I...sort of just got powers?" No, I was forgetting something before that. A...vision of some sort? It probably wasn't important.

"So what can you do? Other than brushing off gunshots like they're marbles, I mean," he said flatly.

Now probably wasn't the best time to tell him that it wasn't quite that easy. "Limited vibrokinesis."

He gave me a blank look. Right, Dad wasn't big on PHO terminology.

"I control vibrations to a small degree as far as I can tell. I haven't worked out everything about my powers yet."

"And the bullet thing? Did you know?" He asked, visibly concerned.

"Not until now," I said. "I'm not crazy enough to just shoot myself because I feel like testing my powers out, Dad."

His body unwounded just slightly, but he was getting used to the idea of me being parahuman at least. I call it progress. He'd call it adapting to teenage crazy. Parents, am I right?

He fell silent again, his face betraying the clashing emotions inside of him. He knew how much I wanted to be a hero, or suspected it at least. I couldn't be more obvious. Why was this so hard for him?

Hey, that guy that took a brick to the chest was still lying there. His friends must've abandoned him. My powers told me he was still breathing with how his chest and the air around his throat moved.

"So what are you planning to do?" He hesitated. "Are you...joining the Wards?"

I hadn't really thought about it. If I was going to be a hero, than logically I would either be an independent or join one of the existing groups. In Brockton Bay, that meant either the Protectorate or New Wave. New Wave was all about public accountability which was an idea I could get behind. The public unmasking I was less than happy about. Just because I was a hero didn't mean I wanted to give up on my privacy.

The Protectorate could offer me much more in terms of support and training. They'd even pay me for it, not that I needed to be paid for doing the right thing, but I wasn't so rich that I'd say no to the money. But Dad wouldn't leave his people, even if I asked him to. He was being a hero in his own way, even if he didn't have any powers. Heroism wasn't about what you could do, but what you did do.

I respected that. I understood that about him, and I couldn't bring myself to make him choose between the people who needed him, who'd possibly die without him, and what I wanted.

So if I joined the Wards, I might never see him again. That was unacceptable.

Being an independent didn't appeal to me either. I'd seen the statistics someone in the PHO cobbled together. The numbers weren't encouraging.

Still...there was no rule that said I had to join the Wards right away. It wasn't like I was going to go rob a bank or do anything villainous. I was just protecting the little people, the ones whom the Protectorate couldn't. No one could blame me for that. And all the numbers really just said was that I was unlikely to last more than six months. No way this would last that long. I'd just have to play things smart.

"The Wards can wait." I shook my head. "I don't have to join them to be a hero, Dad." Then, in a small voice that would have been lost in the gentlest of breezes, said, "You taught me that."

He smiled, though I didn't know because of which part. It lasted only for a moment. "You're going to fight, aren't you?"

"If I have to."

"What else can you do aside from shrugging off bullets?" he asked. "I mean, vibrations is broad and kind of vague."

He was clearly buying time for himself to think. I didn't blame him. It was a lot to take in.

So I told him. I told him everything. Mostly everything. I didn't want him worrying about the bullying. He'd just tear himself up over it when there was nothing that he could have done. That was in the past now. Winslow was gone. Hess, Emma and Madison were gone.

I was still standing.

I spoke and he listened and for a moment, he felt like what Dad should have been all these years. He'd nod, ask questions and he might not have understood everything, but he tried. That was all I could ask from him. In the end, that was all I wanted.

"Taylor, you know you don't have to fight just because you have powers now. It's not your job. It doesn't become your job because you triggered." He looked me in the eye. "You have a choice. Don't let anyone make it for you."

"I know," I said. "I want this."

"Then you need a better costume. Your mask doesn't really hide much."

"It was the best I could do at the time!"

"Uh-huh." Dad walked over the the unconscious gang member and began stripping him.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"Getting you a better costume. Boots to change your height, the jacket to hide your build. It's not much, but it should do the trick." He pulled off a boot. "I hope."

"What do we do about him though?" I asked, helping him get the jacket. "Do we just leave him here? Turn him over to the cops?"

"They don't have prisons to throw him in in the camps. Just leave him. Walking barefoot is punishment in itself."

"We could bring him with us. Tie him up somewhere," I said.

Dad grunted. "Then we'd have to feed him."

True. I didn't really want to do that.

Dad's camp was bigger than I imagined it would be. A couple of guys with shotguns were watching the entrance. Furniture and loose pieces of wood had been moved to make what looked to be the beginnings of an enclosure. They integrated Dad's office as part of their wall too. Inside the camp, there were a few fires burning with even more people huddled around them. It wasn't just men in the camp, there were women and children too - the families of the dockworkers.

"Who's there?" One of the sentries called out, pointing a gun in our direction.

"It's Danny, Kurt."

Even with the poor lighting, I could sense the minute changes in his expression, altering how my vibrations bounced in small, but noticeable, ways. Kurt was relieved. He also stopped pointing the shotgun at us.

"Thank God you're safe, Danny. You left and told us you'd be back, but you didn't say when," he said. "You were right yesterday. The Merchants tried to hit us today, but we managed to drive them off."

"Did any of ours get hurt?" Dad asked.

"Tyson and Yuri got beat up, but they're not in danger." Kurt looked me over, a questioning look in his eye. Huh, the costume worked. He didn't recognize me.

"This is-" Dad stopped.

"I'm a cape," I said.

"She saved my life tonight," Dad said. "I got ambushed by a group of raiders. She saw them off for that, but she needs a place to stay."

"Well, anyone who saved one of ours is welcome here, Miss. What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh." I shared a look with Dad. "I...I don't really have one yet."

"Do you mind if we call you cape girl for now?" Kurt asked. "We can't go around calling you 'miss' or 'girl' all the time. It'd cause some confusion."

"I understand. It's fine."

Kurt nodded. "Welcome to our camp then, cape girl."

We went around the camp once, Dad trying to introduce me to everyone, but I couldn't really keep track of their names. Fighting...with those gang members...had left me...drained.

-Resonance-

Despite falling asleep pretty early, I still woke up late. Or rather, everyone still woke up earlier. The sun wasn't that high on the horizon yet. I had a room to myself in Dad's office. At least, I assumed that was the case since I was alone when I woke up unmasked. I kinda sorta remember Dad carrying me to this room.

I got up and my side shrieked. I winced and lifted up my shirt. A spot of ugly purple was there, a reminded that I had been shot last night. Slowly, I pulled down my shirt and wiped away some of the grime on my face before putting on the mask. God, I missed showers.

I was on the first floor of the three-story building, located strategically near the building's exit without being right beside it. If the camp was under attack during the night, I could be outside and ready in under twenty seconds. Drowsiness might kill me in the fight, but at least I'd be fighting.

"Morning cape girl!" a woman called out immediately, waving me over. I'd met her last night, but I couldn't remember her name for the life of me. "Sleep well?"

"I did actually," I said, smiling. Could they even see if I was smiling? Oh well, it was the thought that counted. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

"Cassie," she said, handing me a bottle of water.

I accepted. "Thanks, and I meant your last name." I could thank Dad for that trick on how to get people's names without offending them.

"Cassie Holton, but please, just call me Cass," she said, smiling now. "Breakfast's by the fire. You can join the kids there. Oh, before I forget, here's your plate."

I took it from her and looked at it for a while. "What do I do with it after I'm done eating?"

"Well, we can't spare the water to wash right now." She shrugged. "If I were you, I'd keep it somewhere no one would mistake it for theirs."

"Sure." I glanced in the direction of the fires. There were some pots and jars (they'd managed to salvage a lot of things) there and kids that looked to be in junior high. Some of them went to Winslow too. "Thanks again, Cassie!"

"Cass," she corrected, before beginning to hum a little tune to herself.

Some of the kids I were with looked at me with a mix of awe and curiosity, like I was the new kid in the block. Which, technically, I was. They asked me about my powers (Vibrations), whether I could make earthquakes like Behemoth did (No) and if I was planning to stay for long (For the foreseeable future). Finally, they were content to leave me to my bowl of canned fruits, stale bread and warm gruel.

The spoon was halfway to my mouth before I realized I had a problem. The mask was still on and I couldn't really eat with it.

"Cape girl." It was Kurt. He was one of Dad's friends. I'd seen him a few times at our house before, and he'd seen me, which made it all the more surprising that he hadn't recognized me. I mean sure, I looked a bit taller and my build wasn't obvious until you looked closely, but still! My hair was out and I was clearly white...okay, so maybe there were a lot of white girls with brown hair out there.

"Um, yeah, Kurt?"

"Do you mind heading out with my group today?" he asked, then added quickly, "After you finish breakfast, of course."

"Have you asked Da-nny?" I caught myself before blowing my cover again. Really had to work on that dual identity thing.

"He told me to ask you directly," he said.

"Alright, sure, just um, let me finish this in my room real quick," I said.

"Your room- oh, right, the secret identity is a thing with you capes. We're meeting by the entrance in fifteen minutes," he said. "Is that enough time for you?"

"Plenty."

More than plenty actually. I was starving and the food practically vanished from my plate the moment I got the mask off.

That done, I deposited the plate on my bed and grabbed my glasses - which went flying when I tore off the mask - before heading out to meet Kurt. I was earlier than expected, I think, because there were only two guys there and no Kurt.

"Hi, I'm the new cape," I said, extending a hand to them.

"Big Joe," the buffer of the two men said, shaking my hand. "And this here's Darterrius," He pointed to the black man with him, "but you can call him Dart."

"Nice to meet you two. Any ideas what we're doing today?"

"Take things worth having and save people worth saving," Dart said. "And maybe kick some Merchant ass while we're at it."

Big Joe growled in assent. "Yeah, still gotta pay back those fucks for yesterday."

"Watch the language, Big Joe," Kurt said, finally showing up. "We got a lady with us."

"Right, sorry."

I shrugged. "I've heard worse. What's this thing I keep hearing about with the Merchants anyway?" They were a small time gang of drug dealers and addicts. The only reason they were even on anyone's radar was because of the capes that lead them, Skidmark and his posse, who weren't all that smart themselves.

"They've been hitting us whenever we go out," Kurt said.

"Tried to hit camp once too," Dart added, "but we showed them why that was a bad idea."

Big Joe high-fived Dart. "Hell yeah we did!"

Once the whole group had gathered, we left the camp. In total, there were ten men, one with a shotgun, the others with an assortment of bats, crowbars and things that went whack. They also had me.

Looking for things and saving people weren't all that different from what I'd been doing for the last two days, except things went by much faster with me telling them exactly where everything, or everyone, was. The survivors who could walk we directed towards the hospitals or the PRT camps where there was bound to be some medical professional hanging around. Those who couldn't we had to carry back to our place. It slowed us down, but we weren't about to leave people to die. Thankfully, we only had to do that twice. Well, technically once. We had to go back for lunch the first time anyway.

The only thing of real excitement that happened was the bunch of Merchants I found. Yesterday, they had heard me and my dad because it didn't occur to me to redirect any sound waves coming from us. It wasn't even hard to do it. My powers knew what I wanted to do and acted almost by itself to make it become reality.

Effectively, the world was deaf to us. Obviously, we got the drop on the Merchants.

I was happy to let the boys beat the shit out of them. I didn't really want to give my bruises a reason to act up on me.

Once those pests were out of the way, we began picking through the area.

"Cape girl!" someone called out. If it wasn't for my powers, I doubt I would have heard them.

I turned and saw two capes approaching from behind our group. Aegis and Clockblocker, my mind supplied instantly. I waited for them to catch up to me.

"Cape girl, that's you right?" Aegis asked. "That's what the people back at your camp called you anyway."

"Yes." My gaze bounced between the two Wards like a pinball. What were they doing here?

Clockblocker raised his hands in surrender. "We're not here to start anything with you!"

I nodded. "Okay. Why are you here then?"

"The PRT wants to know about any independent camps and capes in the city," Aegis explained.

"So they sent us Wards to do it," Clockblocker said. "You know we can't actually keep calling you cape girl, right?"

Aegis nodded. "A hero from Dallas already took the name."

Seriously? Someone actually wanted to be called cape girl?

"To be honest, I'm open to suggestions for a name. Coming up with one is hard."

"We've all been there," Clockblocker said. "So what are your powers?"

"Vibrokinesis."

"Vibrations huh?" Clockblocker grinned and waggled his brows at me. "That must make for fun nights."

I felt blood and warmth and color rush to my head. Aegis buried his face into his hands.

"For your cape name, what do you think about Vibrato-OOPH!" Aegis' elbow dug deep into his side, thankfully. I flashed the Ward a smile.

He shook his head, as if to say "Don't mention it." He cleared his throat. "Since your power has to do with vibrations, maybe we should call you 'Resonance'?"

"Well, it's better than the last suggestion," I said in a flat tone.

"Hey! My suggestion was gold!" Clockblocker pouted.

"Nope," Aegis said. "Not even gonna comment."

"It really wasn't," I said.

Clockblocker crossed his arms. "Everyone's a critic," he said, though he was smiling soon enough. "So, the big question then." He knelt on one knee and cupped my hand with both of his. "Resonance, will you do me the honor of joining the Wards and being our resident eye candy 'til death do us part?"

Aegis' shoulders slumped and he gave me an apologetic, if resigned, face. "We could really use your help. The PRT needs every cape we can get."

Clockblocker's grip on my hand tightened, his eyes becoming almost pleading. "And the male-to-female ratio of our team is just criminal. Could you believe another guy, a fellow named Browbeat, joined? Please, Resonance, save us from that sausage fest!"

"Clockblocker," Aegis said, his tone annoyed.

"What? It's true! Even Vista has been complaining about it."

"Don't you guys have Shadow Stalker?" I asked.

Aegis and Clockblocker shared a mischievous grin. "Well, normally I'd say she doesn't count, but after yesterday, well…"

I couldn't resist asking. "What happened yesterday?"

"Don't tell Shadow Stalker we told you this, but Vista was using her as a teddy bear last night. Shit was hilarious."

I laughed.

Clockblocker's eyes shined. "See! She can even laugh unlike a certain someone who shall not be named. You're perfect," he told me. "Please, please, please join the Wards? I'll buy you ice cream?"

"The free ice cream sounds terrific," I said. I could see myself becoming friends with these guys easily. In another time, if I had triggered before Behemoth had hit, I would have been part of the Wards. But right now? I couldn't just leave Dad and his friends here to fend for themselves, not with the Merchants after them. "But I can't, I'm sorry. I appreciate the offer, really I do, but the people here-" I gestured to Kurt and Dart keeping an eye on me from a respectful distance, "-need me. Maybe when the city gets better, I'll join up. But I have to say no, not right now. I'm sorry."

Clockblocker sighed in dramatic fashion, returning my hand to me before standing slowly. "My heart breaks for yonder, Resonance, but mayhaps one day we shall meet again. 'Til that fateful day arriveth, I shall be true unto you and you alone." He turned to Aegis. "Come my steed! We marcheth onwards into battle once more!"

"The Wards will welcome you whenever you want to join, Resonance," Aegis said. Then in a lower voice, he continued. "I saw some of the people in your camp were hurt. If you ever need healing, go to the hospitals. They're working miracles over there."

"Thanks?" What was that about?

I walked back over to the guys. "Everything alright, cape girl?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, they just wanted to talk," I said. "And it's Resonance now."

"Resonance huh? It's a nice name."

"Better than cape girl at least," I said.

Kurt grinned. "That it is."

AN: For most fanfiction about worm, the question of what to do with Danny is a big one. As a character, he was never popular. Much like Ron in HP, the fandom has treated him even worse. This has led to various solutions. One was to kill him early to minimize interaction.

Another was to make a frothing at the teeth, completely unreasonable Danny. The last was a super-supportive!Danny whom might as well not exist for everything he added to the story.

I didn't want to kill him off so early. The other two solutions were cringe-worthy for me to read, and while I can understand why a lot of writers treat him that way (It's easy to do and easy to point to certain parts of canon for justification), those portrayals seemed to reduce Danny to a cardboard cutout. What I tried here was to balance both things, showing a Danny that was somewhat supportive, but also reasonably worried for his own daughter. Not sure how well I did on that.

Also, fuck fanon for overusing the word "kiddo". Danny called her that once. Once! Never letting it appear in my story.


	6. Ruin-05: One of a kind

**Chapter 05: One of a kind**

It was just after sunset when we stumbled back into camp, our bags heavy with tools and such. We didn't manage to find any food though. Kurt said the Merchants must've picked the place clean before we'd driven them off.

There were more people in camp than last night, or maybe it just seemed that way because I was actually awake now? In any case, dinner was almost ready.

"Before we eat," Kurt began loudly, " I'd like to say a few words." All activity in the camp stilled as people gave him their full attention. "As most of you know, cape girl arrived yesterday after saving our damsel in distress, Danny, from a bunch of thugs." There was some laughter and Dad raised a bottle of water in acknowledgment.

"Well today, she took it up a notch and helped us take down a bunch of Merchants trying to ambush us!" There were some cheers, notably from the guys I went out with. "I'd just like to extend my, and the entire camp's, thanks for what you're doing for us, cape girl. Or as she's called now, Resonance!"

"Re-so-nance!" Big Joe began, pumping his fist into the air to punctuate each syllable. "Re-so-nance! Re-so-nance!" It was mostly the guys in my group chanting, but a few of the kids joined in too.

I smiled and hoped the mask hid my red face. Over dinner, more people came up to thank me and I chatted amicably with them. My powers would occasionally overreach though, pulling on soundwaves from farther than my normal hearing range if I didn't check them.

"Dude, I'm telling you, the cape's a total babe," one of the teenagers said to his friend.

"How would you know? The jacket hides her build."

"It doesn't hide _all_ of her."

The thought that one of them had a crush on me was...flattering. Yet weird at the same time.

I reacted in the way most teenagers would: hiding in my room at the earliest convenience.

I put aside my mask and jacket, lying down on the couch that was my bed and closed my eyes. It was getting loud outside. People were certainly in a festive mood with all the shouting.

No. Not shouting, _screaming_. An attack.

I grabbed my mask and jacket, wearing them on my way out. I had just took them off too. Gunshots rang in the air. A crowd rushed past me for the relative safety of the office. And I saw Dad standing there with his shotgun.

"Taylor," Dad said. "I-"

He didn't want me to go, I could see it in his eyes. But he knew he had to. No one else could stop the Merchants. The protective side of him and the logical side of him clashed in his head, and it tore him apart.

"I'll be fine," I said, smiling. "I'm a hero, remember?"

"Stay safe out there," he said, placing two bullets into his gun and cocking it.

"I'm the one with the bullet-stopping powers," I said. "You should be more worried about yourself."

"Well, I know how to duck behind cover," he said. "I don't need powers."

I rolled my eyes at him and ran over to the camp's entrance where those with guns were exchanging fire with the gang members. "Is it the Merchants again?" I asked Big Joe.

"Fucking cunts just don't know when to give up," he said in lieu of an answer.

"'Yes' would have been enough," I said.

"All part of my personal charm," he said, before returning fire. "Eat lead, motherfuckers!" I heard someone scream from our side and heard a body fall. His place in the firing line was filled almost immediately while others dragged him away from the fighting.

I didn't want to try my powers against the number of bullets coming our way. Instead, I waited for a lull before stepping out in the open, arms outstretched in a 'V'.

Startled shouts came from them as weapons and bodies went flying. "It's the cape!" one of them shouted.

There was some hushed whispers and I pulled on the soundwaves to listen in on them. "...don't waste your ammo on her. She's immune to them," one of the two figures standing behind the gunmen said. Rocks and loose material and debris clung to him, forming a protective sphere. There was only one cape among the Merchants who fitted that description - Mush.

The gang members that ambushed me and Dad must have told them about that. Well, if they wanted to think shooting me wouldn't work, who was I to shatter their illusions?"

BOOM!

I heard the sound of a missile exploding a few miles out, somewhere to our southeast. I kept my eyes locked on the Merchants in front of me even as they glanced at the direction of the explosion.

"Heh! That must be the cunt by the Boardwalk. Doser and Trainwreck are gonna fuck 'im up good!"

"We've got our own fucker to waste, Scrapyard," Mush said.

Scrapyard? I hadn't heard of that name before. Was he a new cape, a Behemoth trigger like me?

"Mush and Scrapyard," I said in a low voice, pushing the soundwaves as far as I could so that it would sound like I was standing right next to them.

"Fuck!" Scrapyard shouted. "That's some creepy ass shit right there! What's this bitch's power again?"

"Shockwaves, earthquakes and a shield against guns," Mush said. "We get in close, we can fuck her up."

Wow, the Merchants really were stupid. Just because my shield stopped a bullet didn't mean melee weapons would break through it. That logic didn't make any sense. I guess all the drugs they took limited their brains to trial and error.

"Hey bitch!" Scrapyard said. "How do you know my name? I'm a new trigger!"

"I make it my business to know," I said. That was a vague bullshit enough of an answer to make me sound mysterious to their addled minds. It might scare them off even.

"Heh, hear that Mush? I'm famous now."

Or not.

"Shut up, Scrapyard," Mush said. Yeah, shut up.

"Don't be jealous that the bitch wants my dick, Mush."

I used to think that the Merchants couldn't get any lower, then this guy comes around and proves me wrong. "The name is Resonance," I growled out. "And these people are under my protection. Leave now."

"Or you'll do what little girl?" Scrapyard asked, the smirk audible in his voice. "Cry to your daddy?"

"Leave," I repeated, "or I'll make you leave. Last chance, assholes." I warned them. Nobody could blame me for not trying out diplomatic options now.

Slabs of steel and iron rose around Scrapyard. Telekinesis?

No. The waves he was emitting were familiar to me...they were magnetic waves. That meant his power was ferrokinesis or magnetism.

Could I do the same? I tried to tug on one of the metals, emulating the waves Scrapyard was unleashing. It moved a little and Scrapyard frowned. Then the slab stilled, completely under his control again. I could have put more of my power behind it, try to wrestle for control, but what purpose would that serve? I had managed to confirm another of my power's abilities without tipping them off. That was a win in my books.

Now how to use it to my advantage?

The pencil-thin slabs moved, launching towards me concurrently like giant crossbow bolts. They weren't as fast as bullets - which meant they weren't fast _enough_.

The vibrations in the air around me became omnidirectional as they were pulled every which way imaginable and I made sure to place emphasis on the magnetic waves. The slabs entered my barrier and while the disruption to their momentum was noticeable, it was the effect on their aim that interested me.

The closest one landed an arm's length away from me, one end biting deep into the cement.

"Do you always f-finish this fast?" I asked, cursing myself for the stutter, placing as much faux disappointment as I could in the words. I sucked at this, but in my defense, it's not like I made barbed sexual innuendos all that often. Or at all. Ever.

The point is the taunt shouldn't have worked on anyone with half a brain. Thankfully, Scrapyard only had a quarter of one.

"I'll make you swallow those words, bitch!" he screamed, the slabs shaking violently before extracting themselves from the ground. I doubled down on my barrier in case he tried to hit me with them.

Instead, he chose the least intelligent of his options - repeating his tactics. The slabs returned to his side of the field quickly, far too quickly for his powers alone. He didn't notice of course.

I waited until I felt him try to slow down the slabs, then I acted, pushing against his powers with my own. His control over metals was stronger than my own normally, or at least it felt that way to me. But in this situation, with momentum and surprise on my side, I won.

Scrapyard's eyes widened for a moment as realization sunk in. Then I drove home the point into him, as in literally driving the slabs _into_ him. Whatever god was out there was kind enough to maintain his brain's self-preservation instinct. Instead of trying to wrest complete control, his powers acted to divert the projectiles, which worked to a degree. He didn't get turned into a pincushion.

He just got stabbed twice, once in his shoulder, once in his thigh. I sighed in disappointment. A few more inches and I could have neutered him.

Mush stared at Scrapyard. It must have looked like Scrapyard had just stabbed himself with his own powers seven seconds into the fight.

"You're a fucking moron, Scrapyard." Mush turned around and walked away. "Fuck this, I'm out."

"Fuck you, Mush! You can't just let the bit-AARGH!"

So the steel skewering him sunk just a bit deeper. That wasn't my fault. Anyone who claims otherwise is a dirty, dirty liar.

"You can't just let her win!" Scrapyard screamed out.

"She's got shockwaves, I can make a shield," Mush said, not even turning around. "It's no contest."

"You're a fucking disgrace to everything the Merchants stand for Mush!"

"The Merchants don't stand for shit except surviving, you dumb fuck!" Most of the gang members followed after Mush. A few stayed.

I sensed one of the them run a few steps forward to try and rush me with a bat. Before he could take another one I blasted him with a full power shockwave. His body flew, smashing into a shipping crate and crumpling in half.

I pointed my palms at the other gangsters, noting how tense their stances were. Only three of them were threats because of the guns they carried, the rest had a hodgepodge of blunt weapons.

"Drop it or I get serious," I said. Technically a lie since I was already serious, but Dad always said that when pressed for time during negotiations, exaggerate.

They complied.

"If you show your faces here again, bad things _will_ happen. Nod if you understand."

They complied.

"Now," I tilted my head towards Scrapyard, "take the trash out and scram. Leave the weapons here."

They complied.

For some reason, I looked up and I saw.

There was someone else here. A girl, if the shape of the newcomer's body was anything to go by, standing on one of the shipping containers, one of many that would afford someone a good view of the fight. When had she arrived? My muscles tense in anticipation of battle just in case it came to that.

Something about her _changed_ and suddenly, she was invisible to my powers. That was impossible! Even if she had turned herself completely into air I would have been able to sense her. My powers picked up on the wind all the time.

I concentrated, directing my full attention to finding her through my powers, using where she was in reality as a reference for my vibration sense.

There! A flicker, a miniscule interaction between whatever she was and my vibrations. It appeared but for a moment, then disappeared, phasing in and out like nothing I had ever encountered. She was barely perceptible to me when I did pick up on her presence and that was me _focusing_. In all likelihood, she'd be able to sneak up on me if I didn't know she was around.

There was a slight interaction still between her and my vibrations, but it was an infinitesimal one. If I didn't know she was there, I would have passed it off as a light breeze. She looked like a moving shadow to my eyes.

No, she _was_ a moving shadow.

"Shadow Stalker," I said. There was no one else in Brockton Bay who could do that. Well, unless someone new had triggered with an almost identical powerset and, really, what were the odds of that? I kept standing on the balls of my feet, ready to leap aside if she tried to shoot me with her crossbow. Just in case.

"Dayummm, white girl can kick ass!" she said. I could hear the grin in her voice, painting her in a feral light. "You're that new cape right? Resonance?"

"Yes." Why was she here? Shadow Stalker was a member of the Wards so what could they want from me now? They had talked to me just a few hours ago. "Are you here to ask me to reconsider about the Wards?"

"Fuck the Wards. I'm not here for them. I'm here for me. And for you." She looked me over appraisingly. "See, you and me? We're, ah what's the phrase they use? One of a kind? Yeah, that." She nodded. "We're survivors."

I blinked. "Okay?"

"You do what's necessary, teach fuckers like the Merchants about what _real_ punishment is. Not like the Protectorate...bunch of pussies. No, you keep doing this," she said, tilting her head towards the camp. "You're doing more here than the rest of those cowards back in the camps."

"Thanks."

"Gotta get back to my patrol route before Assault comes looking for me. Get a good hit on the Merchants for me next time, yeah?"

"Um, sure."

Shadow Stalker touched her forehead with her index finger, then flicked it in my direction in some casual salute. "See ya' around, Resonance." She walked away in a straight line, phasing through any obstacle in her way. I'd like to say I was able to keep track of her, but the moment she left my sight I may as well have never triggered at all.

I headed back to camp.

"Resonance," Dad said, nodding to me. Something warm and comforting seared my chest and I smiled.

"Danny," I answered. "I made the last batch leave their weapons. We should send someone out to pick those up. Could be useful in the next fight."

"Good thinking," he said, glancing around. "Rico, Dart, Resonance says there's weapons out there. Bring them in."

The two obeyed without question.

I watched him a bit longer, moving from group to group, speaking and listening and taking charge, rearranging the salvage crews almost as soon as he heard who'd been injured. Knowing, almost intuitively, who worked best with who. This was the side of Dad I never got to see at home. This was him in his element.

"Resonance, come over here would you?" Dad called out. He was huddled together with Kurt and Cassie. "We need your input for this."

The feeling from before doubled and I almost skipped. Instead, I jogged. Much healthier. "Yeah?"

Kurt glanced around. "It's not looking good with this last attack."

I frowned. "What's the problem?"

"Supplies," Cassie said. "Food especially. We're running out faster than we're getting them."

"Plus, with all the new injuries, we won't be able to send out as many groups," Dad said. "Not without compromising both their and the camp's safety, which would end up with more injured on our heads, which would-"

"Leave us in a cycle," I finished, eyes wide.

"We'll need medicine too," Cassie muttered. "Antibiotics for the infections, blankets, parkas, something to help them keep warm, help the through the shock. Painkillers too if any of the hospitals can spare some."

"What do we do?" I asked.

"We could ration the food more, make it last a little while longer," Kurt said. "But that's a stopgap. We'll need something better."

"We can't really ration what we're giving the wounded either," Dad said. "That'll just kill them faster."

"Can't we send them to the hospitals?" I asked. Aegis had mentioned something about miracle healings hadn't he? Never took him for a cultist really, but if it could help, I was willing to give it a shot.

"The hospitals are all overflowing," Kurt said. "And I don't know if they could make the trip. They're certainly not going to spare doctors to come here."

"Why not?" I asked.

Kurt and Dad shared a look. "We're not the only ones with people dying in the city. They're probably being worked to the bone right now and they still won't be able to treat everyone in their hospitals," Kurt said.

"They just don't have the time," Cassie said.

"I can ask the Wards and the PRT for help," I said. "They made contact with me today."

"It's a good start, but we can't rely on them to follow through in time," Dad said. "I can ask the mayor for help too."

"The mayor?" I asked.

"I don't just sit around doing nothing all day, you know," he said. "I have contacts."

"Danny was beginning talks with them about reconstruction work," Kurt said. "Most of the guys here are suited for the job. We could begin right now if only they'd support us. Can't really do much if we're fighting for our lives everyday."

"About the manpower problem. I can go searching with a smaller group," I said. "My powers will let me compensate. Would that let us keep the number of search groups we have?"

"It should," Kurt said before Dad could answer. He nodded grimly, though I'd been with him long enough to know he didn't like the idea.

But he accepted it as necessary. That was enough.


	7. Ruin-06: Pretend Telepath

**Chapter 6: Pretend Telepath**

I set out early with my group the next day. I needed to, with all the slack we had to pick up. I only had two people with me this time, Dart and Rico. Dart was armed with a pistol that we had taken from the Merchants last night along with a crowbar. Rico just had the crowbar.

"So why the crowbar too?" I asked as we headed out of camp.

"Might run out of bullets," Dart said, fumbling a little before slamming the cartridge into the gun and turning on the safety.

"Do you know how to use one?"

He gave me a blank look. "Point it then pull the trigger?"

His answer didn't exactly inspire confidence. "You have to pull back slide on top of the barrel to load bullet, amigo," Rico said, taking the gun from him. "Like this."

Dart took the gun back from him. "See, I don't get why you wouldn't bring a gun with you, Rico. You know more than me about this."

"It's against my religion to kill," he said, shrugging. "Mi mai would never stop talking in my ear if I did."

"How'd she even know if you did?"

Rico glanced at the sky. "She's always watching me." Then he made a sign of the cross.

"But beating someone up is okay?" Dart asked.

"She would also say they deserve it. If you spare the rod, you spoil the child."

"Child?" I repeated. "The Merchants aren't exactly young anymore."

"They act like it, they get treated like it," Rico said, bouncing the crowbar off his left palm.

"I can get behind that," Dart said, grinning as we reached our first intersection. He turned to me. "Well, where to first boss?"

I rubbed my neck and looked away, making a show of surveying our options. "When did I become the leader? Doesn't Kurt usually decide what we do?"

"Eh, Kurt ain't here. You are," Dart said. "RIco and me ain't cut out for the leadership schtick. That leaves you."

"We'll go down this way then," I said, pointing away from the Boardwalk, where all the explosions last night were coming from. Scrapyard seemed to think it was a cape and while it was a good policy to double check, well, anything he said really, his words did make sense. It was more likely a cape's powers were making those sounds than someone coming up with the resources to build several explosives and blowing up that part of the city. Still, the sounds did suggest a degree of destructive potential, which meant a smaller chance of finding what we needed there.

"So you guys sleep well last night with all of the noise?" I asked.

"Not at all," Dart said. "I'm just itching for our next fight to take it out on someone."

"I lived next to a construction site once," Rico said. "This is not so different."

They continued to make small talk along the way and I'd nod and smile at all the appropriate places while keeping track of the houses we passed by. I'd point one out as having food or water, but the further from camp we got, the rarer those occasions became. It seemed counterintuitive, almost, except there were bound to be other groups like us, trying to scrape out a living. I sensed a few of them even, digging through houses I already knew were devoid of anything valuable.

"Hey Dart?" I called out.

"Yeah?"

"Hand me your crowbar for a while please? I want to try something with my powers."

"Sure thing," he said. "Catch! Hey Resonan-"

"Hmm?" I studied the crowbar in my hand now. "Something the matter?"

"You just caught it without looking," Dart said.

Had I? Huh. So I had. "It wasn't that hard." I could tell the trajectory and force of the crowbar as it was moving. It was just a matter of moving my hand to the right spot.

"She's a cape. Don't act so surprised," Rico said.

I tried to reach out for the magnetic waves I had used yesterday. I could perceive them, albeit faintly. It was definitely much stronger last night.

I tossed the crowbar up in the air and tried to alter its trajectory with magnetism. All I got instead was more of my vibration barrier tossing it around.

There was something odd about my powers. They felt inconsistent and almost random at times. Maybe they got stronger when I had more of a need for them? I _was_ in danger each time they had displayed new capabilities.

"Thanks Dart," I said, handing it back to him. I really needed to figure it out. The sooner the better.

 _-Resonance-_

I frowned. My senses were telling me about a giant... _dog_!? It was weaving through fallen buildings and scattered debris with ease, on a path that would collide with ours soon. Gang members I could fight. Dumb capes I could fight. _Giant dogs_!? I wouldn't bet on _not_ ending up their chew toy.

"We need to move," I hissed.

"Huh?" Dart asked.

"Something big and fast is heading straight for us," I said, running back the direction we'd come from.

My vibrations supplied me with another wave of information. Whatever it was that was coming, it had friends and we were in the middle of whatever reunion they were planning. "Make that _three_ somethings. New plan: hide!"

They glanced at each other and followed after me.

Who the heck had _giant fucking dogs_ as a power? Was there even anyone in Brockton Bay who...oh no. Of all the people it could have been, it had to be Rachel Lindt, better known as the Hellhound. She was a wanted fugitive and murderer before she made this city into her home. Would we even be able to hide from dogs? They were supposed have really good hearing and smelling right? If they got in close enough, there wasn't anything I could do about the smell.

Or was there? My powers _were_ pretty versatile.

Nope, not that versatile it seems. Guess there is a limit to how much I can get away with.

Dart and Rico wouldn't stand a chance here. I stopped running. "Hiding won't work against those giant dogs. I can't mask our scent. Keep going and head back to camp. I'll hold them off."

"We can't just leave you here!" Dart said. "You crazy?"

"It'll be easier for me to give them the slip if I'm alone," I said. At least, I hoped so. "Go."

Dart handed me his gun. "Take it. Might come in handy."

I didn't think it would, but I accepted it anyway, just so he'd leave sooner. "Go!" I checked to see if the safety was on before stuffing it into my pocket.

I reached out with my vibrations again to get a clearer picture. As if things weren't bad enough, two of the dogs were mounted. Four teenagers total, in costume like me. Capes.

The Undersiders.

Sure they were a small time villain group. Sure they were more runners than fighters.

That didn't mean I liked the idea of fighting them _solo_ four days into getting my powers.

I cursed myself for not trying to know more about their powers. What did I know? Hellhound was a psycho that apparently had _giant dogs_. They were probably just as psycho as Hellhound too. Grue had something to do with darkness or...turning into a cloud? He provided concealment somehow. Regent was in jail, though it probably wouldn't have taken them long to break him out with the city as it is right now. He tripped people up, which could be lethal if he timed things right. And the last one was Tattletale. No one knew what her powers did, however, it was probably thinker, tinker or trump with how she kept away from the thick of the fighting.

I couldn't win head on. These guys weren't the Merchants. They were smart, _smarter_ at least, and experienced as a team. Scrapyard and Mush weren't.

I'd rather not fight them. I'd rather disappear.

Hellhound's hounds from hell skidded to a halt a few yards away from me. I was surrounded and raised my hands, ready to defend myself.

"What do you want?" I asked them wearily.

Nothing happened for a while. The dogs just kept sniffing the air.

"I don't see the cape anywhere," one of the guys said, ignoring me completely. I think it was Grue.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was this some sort of joke for them? I might be new, but that didn't mean they could treat me like I wasn't a threat.

"Scent ends here," a girl, Hellhound I think, grunted.

Grue nodded. "Tattletale? You getting anything?"

The second girl slid down and looked around. "She's still here."

"Hiding?" A girl beside me asked, materializing from thin air.

I jumped backwards. Who the heck was this? I thought there were only four Undersiders. Had they been recruiting? There'd be no shortage of new triggers in the aftermath of an Endbringer attack.

"I'm right here!" I shouted.

They continued to ignore me. I frowned, walking up to Imp and waving a hand over her face.

She looked right through it. They weren't ignoring me. They actually couldn't see or hear me.

What did that have to do with vibrations though? Frankly, my powers were getting ridiculous. What was I? The second coming of Eidolon?

This would have been the perfect time for me to get away...but, could I really pass up this opportunity? The last time my powers had done something out of the ordinary, I hadn't been able to repeat the results. Maybe these "special features" were a one time thing? Who knows if I'd ever be able to be this close to the Undersiders without them knowing. Besides that, they were clearly looking for me.

If they were going to become a threat, I needed more information on them; what they wanted and what they could do. I refuse to be caught off guard again.

"Maybe on the hiding," Tattletale said. "She's not in any of the buildings though."

"Where else is there to hide?" Grue asked, gesturing to the empty roads. "Did you see her go anywhere Imp?"

The girl who materialized from thin air shook her head. "I didn't see her when I got here. Shit, maybe she's a Stranger like me," Imp said, peering around. Little did she know I was standing right in front of her.

Tattletale frowned. "She shouldn't be able she's a-" Tattletale's eyes widened. "Grue!"

Then there was nothing - no sights, no sounds, just this ink black that covered everything. I couldn't tell where I was. I couldn't tell where _anything_ was.

For the first time since I triggered, I felt blind and it terrified me.

Even in a moonless night with my eyes _closed_ I could walk and move perfectly well. My vibrations were a sense unto themselves, offering me perfect three-sixty awareness and more. But this darkness...this _Grue_ had done something to that. My vibrations were bogged down, unable to pierce through the veil. It was as if the darkness was _pushing_ back.

I don't know how long I stood there waiting, my elbows bended and my palms outward in a defensive stance. I felt so helpless just standing here, unable to do anything with my powers.

Then the blackness receded, and I could see and hear and sense. And I saw her.

"Hi, I'm Tattletale," she said, extending her hand towards me. I could hit one of the Undersiders quickly before the others could react in time. Who to target though?

"Resonance," I said, keeping my distance.

"You're a new cape, so I just wanted to be the first to welcome you to our little community and hand out the introductory packet. There are unwritten rules that we capes abide by. We don't try to figure out a cape's civilian identity _ever_. If you do find out, you keep it to yourself," she said. "But that's not all I'm here for. Believe it or not, we just want to talk."

These unwritten rules sounded ridiculous. There was no way any serious hero would adhere to them. And I seriously doubted they were here "just to talk." Tattletale was probably lying to me. She was a villain after all, and I couldn't trust her.

"You have a way of showing it," I said dryly. Grue was a tempting choice to eliminate first, but he seemed to generate the darkness from himself. If I could put enough distance between us, his darkness wouldn't be able to shut me down.

"Sorry about that. I sort of panicked when I figured out your powers," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"You've figured out my powers?"

"I'm smart," she said.

"We just met," I said. Thinkers were so bullshit. That made Tattletale an excellent choice too. She looked like the leader of the gang. The question was would the others fall apart without her direction? It didn't seem likely. In terms of combat, she had the least offensive power too.

She shrugged. "I'm really smart?"

I looked over to Regent and his renaissance fair getup. "Hey, weren't you in jail?" Also someone I had to look out for. If I tried to make a break for it, he'd be able to stop me cold with his tripping powers. Trivial by himself, dangerous with others.

"Yeah, but then Behemoth happened and they let me out to fight." He shrugged, gesturing to the other Undersiders. "I kinda promised these losers I would."

"The fight lasted what? Thirty minutes?"

"Yup."

"Did you even _do_ anything?" I asked, trying to buy myself more time.

"I couldn't catch a ride, so I had to walk. Not my fault Scion showed up so quickly."

"So you just decided to bail afterwards."

He gave me a look. "I wasn't about to go back. What kind of villain would I be if I did that?"

The villains really couldn't be trusted to do the decent thing for once.

I turned my eyes to Hellhound and we stared at each other for a while.

Out of the five, she was the least stable and possibly the most dangerous in general. Those dogs of hers were obviously enhanced by her powers in some way. Taking her down would eliminate the heavy hitter on their team. But would the dogs return to normal? Or would they go on a warpath without their master to control them?

"Ha, you blinked!" Imp said. "That means Bitch wins the staring contest." Regent chuckled.

Finally, we had the invisible girl. I hadn't been able to sense her with my vibrations before she dropped her powers. I wasn't sure if my powers would beat her powers if it came down to a game of cat and mice. Too many unknowns, too much risk.

This was a battle I couldn't win with strength. This, I realized belatedly, was the reason why solo capes didn't last long. Eventually, they'd meet a team that was just _better_ and they'd lose everything. Going solo meant being unable to afford mistakes and the thing about perfection? Nobody could manage it.

"Ignore them," Grue said. He was wearing a helmet, so I couldn't really see his eyes, but I imagined he was rolling them.

"As much as I'm...enjoying getting to know all of you, are we getting to the point anytime soon?" I asked, keeping my eyes on Tattletale to give them the impression I was off guard. I didn't need eyes to know where everyone was anyway.

"We want you to join our team," Tattletale said.

"You want me to be a _villain_?" I asked.

She grinned. "Would you believe me if I said we were in the process of rebranding?"

"No."

"It's true," she said.

"Might as well call ourselves a charity for all the stuff we're handing out to the people," Imp said.

"What they're trying to say is that what we're doing now isn't so different from what you're doing," Grue said. "Keeping the peace, establishing order, getting the essentials for people under our protection."

"And in exchange, people just have to listen to you right?" I asked.

"People look to us for leadership, yes," Grue said, frowning. "But they're free to leave whenever they want. We're not doing anything other than enforcing the rules."

"Rules which you dictate."

"Rules which _someone_ has to dictate," Tattletale said. "What difference does it make if it's us or if it's the head of the Dockworker's Union?"

My blood froze.

"Yeah, I know about your camp's politics," she said. "I'm a telepath."

"Leave _them_ out of this!" I snarled, clenching my fists.

Tattletale took an unconscious step backwards, holding her hands up in surrender. "Wow, wow, take it easy. I-oh. Oh! God, that must have sounded so much worse to you," she said. "I didn't mean to imply anything about it. But, um, just so you know, this is kind of what the unwritten rules are for, to keep people like them safe."

She sounded genuinely sorry for that. That...bothered me. Tattletale was smart enough to know that she what she said wouldn't sound like anything but a threat. That meant she was lying, either about being sorry or about being a telepath.

I was inclined to believe the latter because telepathy was so _bullshit_. I refused to believe there was a Simurgh-lite running around in Brockton Bay.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're not a telepath."

"I like to pretend I am," she said. "But no. Enough about me though, let's talk about your problems."

Pretend telepath has become pretend therapist.

"We know your camp's been running out of supplies. There was a Merchant attack yesterday, wasn't there? Some of your guys got hurt probably? That can't be making it any easier on your situation."

"And me joining you fixes this how?"

"I'm getting to that," Tattletale said. "The most obvious advantage is that you'd have backup. The Merchants try to send three capes at you? Fine. We'll match them and we'll come out on top each and every time." I couldn't say the idea of having help _didn't_ appeal to me.

"Your people need water? Food? We have more than enough. Medicine? Medical personnel? We got those too. I'd offer you a salary, but I don't think you care about that too much." She tilted her head. "Still, it's on the table if you want it."

"So I'd work for you," I said.

"You'd work _with_ me."

"You used the word salary. That implies a hierarchy." I glanced around. "Who's the boss then? Grue?"

The boy shook his head. It couldn't be any of the others. They seemed too happy to taking the backseat on this one. I guess it was possible that it was a ruse, but that didn't sound convincing to me. The more likely possibility was that the boss was someone outside the group.

"That's on a need to know basis," Tattletale said.

"Your supplies, how do you get them? Stealing from the PRT?"

"Nah, that's way too risky with Eidolon flying over our heads," Regent said. "We wouldn't last a minute if he ever decided to wipe us out."

"Oh, he won't bother," Tattletale said. "That's not the reason we're not hitting the PRT though. Like we said, we're rebranding. Putting our best foot out there for the public to see. We know a guy who ships them in for us."

Food, water and medicine in the quantity they were hinting at to a post-Behemoth city? That would take way more money than bank robberies would net them. That only confirmed there was an outside backer.

Who though? It couldn't be one of the gangs, couldn't be the PRT either. Someone new? They did mention a rebranding.

Though...joining them would solve most of the camp's problems, provided they were telling me the truth.

"If I joined, how soon could you get me what I needed?"

"A day, at the latest," Tattletale said.

"What about after all this though?" I asked. They might be playing hero now, but this wasn't a game to me. I was in this for real. "Do you go back to robbing banks and art galleries?"

"Nope, no more banks for us," she said. "So, you in?"

Would it really be so bad? If they were really turning a new leaf…

That were too many ifs though. _If_ they were really trying to be heroes. _If_ they could deliver on their promises. _If_ they were committed to changing. What happened if their backer decided he liked them better as villains? What happened if he just dropped the ball? Would the Undersiders just regress?

And what would it look like to the public? To Dad? To the PRT? An independent rejecting the Wards for a supposedly ex-villain group?

People would be justifiably worried if I had gone bad. Associating with villains officially was not the best way to debut as a hero.

"I can't," I said.

Tattletale frowned. "You're throwing away people's lives by being stubborn. Every second you wait means more of your people go without the things they need."

Was it selfish of me to worry about my own reputation when people were dying? At the end of the day, wasn't I responsible? But...I didn't even know if the Undersiders would deliver, if I wouldn't end up getting more of my people killed by joining them. "Proof," I said. "Talk is cheap. How do I know you can deliver?"

"We'd ask for some trust," Tattletale said. "But, that's not enough, is it?"

"There's too much you want me to trust you on." I readied to activate my barrier and blow Grue away from me if they chose to fight. That seemed to be my best bet. I could have tried the invisibility trick again, but they already had a counter for that. I also had the gun still. I was willing to bet none of the Undersiders were bulletproof.

"We meant what we said earlier, you know," Tattletale said. "We're not here to fight. If you don't want to join up, we won't force you too."

I kept my eyes on them until they mounted and left. Than I reached out with my vibrations to eavesdrop on Tattletale, in case she let anything slip.

"Is that it? We're just letting her walk?" Grue asked.

"She'll come around," Tattletale said. "She needs what we can offer. It's just a matter of time before she runs out of choices. Besides, we still have to find that other cape."

"You mean that Missile guy?"

"It's actu-"

And they were out of range.


	8. Ruin-07: Someone shoot me now

**Chapter 7: Someone shoot me now**

I tried to look for more supplies before heading back to camp, but the area had been picked clean too. The Undersiders were trying to starve me out.

Today was remarkably unproductive. My group had probably used up more food than we found by coming out. Not to mention the time lost.

Tattletale was right on that account at least. The clock was ticking and something had to be done about our medical situation quickly.

I sighed. If only I knew where to find Panacea. She was a miracle worker with how she healed by touch. Then it hit me.

" _If you ever need healing, go to the hospitals. They're working miracles over there."_

He was talking about Panacea! And, well, possibly Eidolon too now that I thought about it. The world's most powerful healer and the world's more versatile cape, working together? There probably wasn't anything short of death they couldn't beat out there. Heck, if they told me they were raising the dead I'd probably believe them too.

If I could get even just one of them to help me…

I met up with my rescue party as it turned midday. It was a group of four led by Dad, each armed as well as we could manage. While the thought of them coming to my help against capes was touching, they wouldn't have been able to do much, not against giant dogs.

"Resonance!" Dad called out. "Are you okay? We came as soon as we could!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It turns out the Undersiders just wanted to talk," I said. "Sorry if I scared you guys."

"What-"

Boom!

Nobody even glanced at the direction of the Boardwalk anymore. How messed up was it that we were now desensitized to the sound of missiles going off?

"-did they want to talk about?" Dad finished asking.

"Membership benefits."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "They wanted to recruit you?"

"I got the impression they were looking to recruit anyone with powers in general. I'm sure there's lots of new capes running around," I said. "Listen, I think I know a way to fix our medical problem. We find Panacea."

He frowned. "That's easier said than done. Where would we even start looking?"

"The hospitals," I said. "When I was talking with the Wards yesterday, one of them hinted she might be there."

"But why would she help us?" Dad asked. "We have nothing to offer her."

"She's _Panacea_. Helping people is kind of her thing. Now, I haven't been able to figure out which hospital she's in yet, but I don't think she's staying in any one of them. Not for too long at least," I said.

"She's doing rounds, you mean."

I nodded. "Yeah. I might be overthinking things, but Aegis stressed the word _hospitals_. Plural, and as in all of them collectively. It would fit Panacea's MO too. She used to switch up where she went even before Behemoth."

"Well, there are five hospitals in the city. We should also assume she's helping out in the triages and field clinics the PRT has in their camps," Dad said. "The closest ones to us would be Brockton Bay General-" I wondered if George and Claire were alright? "-which is to our south, and Haven Medical Clinic to our west."

"Aren't the Merchants coming from the west too? That's where their base is right?" I asked.

"We're not sure yet, but it's probable. We should probably avoid that one just in case though. I don't want to run the risk of bumping into the Merchants," Dad said. "The other hospitals are in Downtown. The furthest one would take us a few hours to reach on foot."

"And the PRT camp? Isn't there one to our north?" I asked. It would make sense if there was one, at least. To the northeast was the Rig - not to be confused with the PRT Headquarters - where the Protectorate was based, naturally making the area nearby an easily reinforced spot for the PRT.

"By the Markets," Dad confirmed. "We can send someone up there to check too."

"Who do we send?" I asked. I couldn't just spend all day watching the hospitals. I didn't want to sound arrogant, but the camp needed me doing more important things, like keeping the Merchants at bay and helping solve the issue of our dwindling food stock.

"It should be safe enough for the kids to look into as long as we take measures," Dad said. "We can't really spare any of the men to do it. Besides, the PRT would come down hard on anyone dumb enough to start anything in a hospital, especially with how the city is."

The Protectorate also had Eidolon hanging around and he wouldn't like someone stirring things up in a hospital or one of the camps especially. It was merely common sense that you didn't try to piss off the second most powerful cape in the world. Even the Merchants weren't that dumb...although it would make my life a hell of a lot easier if they were.

Speaking of which, how come Eidolon hadn't done that yet? It would take him five minutes if the Merchants tried to fight. Ten if they ran, at the most.

Once we reached camp, we set out to organizing the older kids into teams of two and sending them out. We tried to make things as safe as possible for them, like having them tag along with a scavenging group as far as possible before making a run for their destination or even having someone bring them all the way in some cases. Those precautions weren't nearly enough, not with how aggressive the Merchants were being.

Which was where I came in.

My job was simple. I was the guard dog. With my vibrations, I could sense a fly twitch as far as a block away and a little more. When you took into account I could do this for all directions simultaneously, it made for a fairly big circle that I could keep watch of just by staying still. The best part about it? Obstructions didn't matter to me. Once someone was within range of my powers, there wasn't much they could do to hide.

Unless they were Shadow Stalker. Or Grue. Or Imp.

It might be better to just assume strangers in general had a means of circumventing my vibration sense, but that's what having stranger powers was all about.

A group of people entered the range of my vibrations. There were eight of them, all armed heavily, which meant a high likelihood of being Merchants. I moved to intercept them, mapping out the quickest way of putting myself in their path.

"Merchants," I said, pushing out the soundwaves right before they saw me. I felt them jump, then look around in wild, sudden movements. "This is Resonance. You have five seconds to turn back-"

They didn't even let me finish. Huh, I guess not all of those junkies were stupid.

It did save me time since I didn't have to fight off each group that tried to sneak past me. A vocal warning was often enough. For those that pushed the issue, an appearance would do the trick.

Then they started bringing in working cars...not that it helped them much.

I eyed one such car trying to sneak in between the fallen sign of a Pizza Hut and an abandoned SUV. Then I blasted them with a shockwave, watching with satisfaction as the side of the car slammed into said SUV. The gang members inside fled and I took my time walking up to the engine before blasting it. There was no way I was going to risk them coming back for this.

That done, I decided to call it a day and head back to camp. The sun was already setting and I had maybe half an hour of sunlight left. Everyone should be back there by now so there was no point to me staying here. Well, other than beating up Merchants which was its own reward really.

Dart was on guard duty. His mouth was set in a grim line. "Danny and Kurt want to talk to you," he said. "They're waiting inside."

"Do you know what about?" I asked.

"Probably better if you see for yourself first."

I found Dad and Kurt talking quietly in one of the normally unoccupied rooms. There was a body with them.

"Who's that?" I asked as I entered. He might as well have been half-naked with how many holes his polo shirt had in it. A colored scarf was beside him, two holes poked into it that looked intentional and self-inflicted. There were over two dozen places he was bleeding or bruised or bandaged.

"He stumbled into camp," Kurt said. "Looks about nineteen or twenty, so probably was in college when Behemoth hit. We think he's a cape."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"The holes in his scarf," Dad said. "They align perfectly with his eyes."

"He might be a looter. Or just someone paranoid enough not to want their face shown openly," I said.

"Could be," Kurt agreed, "but I'm with Danny on this. The vibe he gives off just feels more 'cape' than 'looter' to me."

"Plus, listen," Dad said. "Hear that?"

I had no idea what he was talking about. "Hear what?"

"Exactly," Dad said. "It's quiet. No explosions in the distance. There hasn't been one since he found us at least."

" _This_ is the explosion guy?! He could be dangerous! What if he wakes up and turns the entire camp into ground zero?"

"We couldn't just turn him away," Kurt said. "He doesn't need much in ways of medicine, just a safe place to rest and heal up."

"The camp isn't exactly safe," I said. "Not with all the attacks."

Kurt shrugged. "Better than being alone and unconscious out in the dark."

"We're not even sure if he's the cape," Dad said. "It's just a suspicion."

"I hope he is," Kurt said. "Resonance has been doing a great job, but another cape helping us couldn't hurt."

A teammate would be nice, I had to admit.

 _-Resonance-_

"Resonance!"

I looked towards the sentry groggily from my spot by the fire. It was way too early for this.

"There's a cape outside! Says he's Empire!" What?

I became awake instantly. E88? What did they want?

I ran out of the camp and I saw him, just standing there with a backpack. My vibration sense was telling me he was alone here. I approached slowly, never letting my eyes leave him even for a moment.

He raised his hands in casual surrender. "Hallo. My name is Krieg. Are you the fraulein they call 'Resonance'?"

"Yes," I said. First the Undersiders, now the E88? How did capes keep finding out where I was?!

"I'm not here to fight you," he said, unslinging his bag and letting it drop to the ground. He nudged it with his foot. "Inside this bag are some medical supplies. It is a gift for _you_."

I scanned the bag with my vibrations and found there were all sorts of bottles and pills inside. My powers didn't exactly let me read, so while the drugs could technically be fake, I didn't see why the Empire would put on this hoax for. "No thanks."

"You may choose to leave these out here all night until some ruffian takes it away from you if you wish. It won't be going back with me however."

"And in exchange, I just have to join the E88 right?" I asked. "Yeah, thanks, but no thanks."

He chuckled. "Did I say you'd have to join?"

"You didn't not say it."

"Sharp of you, fraulein, but perhaps a tad too _paranoid_." Krieg tilted his head. "Not that it's a bad trait to have considering the state we are in."

"Are you saying you're just...giving the medicine to us?" I asked. "For free? No strings attached?"

"That would be what a gift means, yes," he said. "You've impressed some of us in the Empire."

Great! Just what I needed: admiration from the fucking nazis. "I haven't done anything you should be impressed about."

"Oh, on the contrary, you've done _plenty_."

I kept silent.

"We do what what we can, but the Empire cannot be everywhere, I am saddened to say. For that failing, white lives suffer the consequences, especially during these trying times," he said, before pointing at me. "But you, you have risen to the occasion. How many white lives have you saved just by your mere presence here?"

I shrugged.

"Hundreds," he said. "That would be my conservative estimate. Had you not chosen this camp to be your demesne, the Merchants would have free reign from Memorial Hill to the coast by now. And with how those idiots kill so _indiscriminately_..." He growled. "It makes my blood boil."

"Then why don't you do something about it?" I asked. I mean if the E88 and Merchants wanted to kill each other, who was I to stop them? Less people for me to fight at the end of the day.

"Two reasons, fraulein. First, the Empire's encampment is too far south. We dare not leave it undefended in case the ABB tries to butcher our people. Lung is a cruel and merciless adversary. We would not put wholesale murder past him."

This coming from the nazi.

"Second," he continued, "Eidolon."

I blinked. "Eidolon?" Why would Eidolon care if one gang tried to kill another? Didn't that just mean less work for the Protectorate?

"Yes, Eidolon," Krieg glanced at the sky uncomfortably. "He rules the skies of this city and he makes it known. To incur his wrath is to invite death." Not that dead nazis would be such a bad thing. Why couldn't all villains be as dumb as the Merchants? "The Protectorate would not see the Empire fighting for the improvement of white lives, but as one side in a petty gang war. For now, he is content to leave us be while he deals with more important issues, but if such blatant and rampant violence were to occur on the streets...well, the Protectorate would not be able to ignore us any longer. Eidolon would not stand the affront."

"You know I'm going to use some of this stuff on non-white people, right?"

He nodded. "I had...surmised as much."

"And you're still giving it to me?"

"We both know your camp has an overwhelmingly white populace. If a few of the _lesser race_ are saved inadvertently in the Empire's efforts to save white lives, then so be it," he said. "Besides, we would prefer that you and your people remain here as a stopgap against the Merchants, offering opposition to them. It provides a safe haven, of sorts, to good people, even if they are not part of your camp."

"How does the Empire even know about me anyway?"

His eyes flickered to our camp for a second. "Word has a way of getting around."

Shit. Shit! Was there a nazi spy in my camp? "You have someone in my camp?"

"That would be telling," he said.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Fear not, fraulein. He told us nothing of importance." Except where I was. And that I existed. "He merely saw a problem that the Empire could help with, and took appropriate measures so that sympathetic ears would hear of it. He meant well, truly."

I'm sure he did...and I couldn't deny that we needed help right about now. It's just…did it have to come from the nazis? What did that say about the rest of the city though, if _nazis_ were helping us when no one else would? The whole thing was so messed up.

Could I risk rejecting his offer? Could I risk letting people die for my pride, on the vague hope that we _might_ find Panacea soon? This wasn't like the Undersiders where I had to make the first move by joining up before getting the supplies. Here, they were giving it to me without asking anything in return, supposedly. Even if they did in the future, I could always say no to them and further aid.

I wasn't trusting them. They were trusting me.

"Just so we're clear, I don't buy into the whole white supremacy thing," I said. "And I'm not joining the Empire. I'm a hero."

Krieg nodded.

"But...but we need help and you guys are the only ones offering it."

"How can we be of service, fraulein?" His words were practically dripping with smugness. I had never wanted to punch someone so much in my life before.

Jesus. I was going to burn in hell for this, wasn't I? "Food and water," I managed to say. "And more medicine, if you can spare it." They probably could. Didn't the Empire have that healing cape with them? Othala? "We're running low on...well, everything really."

"It will take me two days to get you what you need," he said. "I will see to their delivery personally if I have to. You have my word."

I swallowed. "Thank you."

Someone shoot me now please?


	9. Ruin-Interlude: Progress (Gallant)

**Interlude: Progress (Gallant)**

To most of his classmates, colors didn't have meaning other than what their Lit. teacher tried to shove down their throats. To Dean, colors meant _everything_.

That pink haze with veins of deep red surrounding Susan Hunter? She was daydreaming about her crush again. The perfectly balanced grey that floated around Dennis's head like a cloud? He was bored. That green intermixing with bits of orange? Someone actually found this class interesting and a tad of that bled into him as well.

The thing about powers like his, about being an empath? You didn't just know what others feel, you _feel_ what they feel.

Then he heard it. The deep, wailing sirens that he'd only heard in those air raid documentaries or nuclear apocalypse films.

For a moment, the world blew up into technicolor as a cacophony of emotion assaulted his senses, only for it to be painted over by an abyssal black that engulfed anything it encountered. Fear was like that, eating away at a person until nothing but a husk remained, the emotional equivalent of plagues and pandemics.

Not that Dean blamed them. He could hardly believe what he was hearing too.

 _Endbringer_.

Then the splotches of bright red appeared like gunshot wounds. Tiny, never enough to actually overtake the vast endless black, but noticeably there.

The screaming started.

Even Mr. Hartwell didn't bother putting on a show of courage as they joined the students in their frenzied rush for the doors.

In the Endbringer - _confusion-_ drills that the _-anger_ \- Wards did alongside - _regret_ \- the Protectorate, they were supposed _-denial-_ to rendezvous somewhere _-panic-_ until the PRT arrived - _fear-_ with their costumes.

Dean blinked, trying to clear his head of the sudden influx.

He was outside in his suit now, a dumbed down version of Armsmaster's that offered him better protection and a bit more strength. Victoria was standing in front of him, her aura at full blast, bathing her in a brilliant glow. Not that her powers had ever invoked awe in him, not directly anyway. But he did feel it from how everyone else felt. She looked perfect.

She was perfect.

"Be careful," Dean heard himself saying.

Victoria nodded. "Take care of my sister, Dean." The world melted away.

A flash of lightning. More screams. More emotions.

 _Victoria._ He tried to reach out to her, stop her from falling, but she was too far. She was always too far. But she was gone before she even hit the ground.

The dead didn't have any emotions left to read after all.

"Vicky!" he heard Amy scream, heard her heart shatter along with his.

" _Take care of my sister, Dean."_

His eyes opened and he was back at HQ, staring at the white ceilings which always reminded him of the hospital.

"Hey Gallant," Clockblocker said, noticing him sitting up. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Not really," he said, glancing around.

"Wanna see something funny?" he asked. Before Dean could answer, Clockblocker walked over to where Shadow Stalker was sleeping and tapped her, keeping her still long enough that Vista could use her as a teddy bear without waking her up.

Dean forced a smile for the attempt, but he just...wasn't in the mood for this. Not after Behemoth. Not after Kid Win.

Not after Victoria.

But he didn't say anything, because he knew better than most. This was how Dennis was dealing. He glanced at the rest of the room, watching as the other Wards began to gather around the sleeping pair with curiosity. If it made things easier on them, all the better.

It wasn't for Dean though. He got up quietly and left. No point ruining the others' fun.

He walked without time or aim to guide to him. Just walked, letting his feet drag him forward, step by step under the dim lighting.

Walked until he found himself in front of the morgue.

It wasn't one originally, but the PRT needed a cold place to store the bodies of the fallen capes. With power still sparse, it had to be in one of the underground levels.

The door opened. She stood there, wearing white robes and a red cross that ran down along her spine, with frizzy brown hair to hide her neck. Arguably the most famous cape in Brockton Bay. Definitely the most important. The shade of black that clung to her wasn't fear, it was despair.

"Amy," Dean said. She didn't move, didn't make a sound, didn't show any indication she had heard him, She just kept holding Victoria's hand, standing vigil over the body.

Dean stepped inside the room and closed the door, before walking up to her side. _It won't work_ , his mind said _,_ but he kept quiet. That wasn't what she wanted or needed to hear, not right now.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

She shrugged.

He frowned. What to say now? How have you been?

 _How do you think I've been!_ he could imagine her saying with a snarl.

I'm here if you want to talk?

 _I wish you weren't._ Amy loved Victoria, and hated him for being with her.

"I let someone die today," Amy finally said. "I could have saved him, but I didn't. I just stood there, watching as the life left his eyes. Then I told his parents he was too far gone to save, that I couldn't heal death."

"Why tell me?" Dean asked.

"You'd know anyway," she said.

He paused for a moment. "Why'd you let him die?"

"Because he was _Empire_ ," she spat out. The same Empire that had killed their aunt Fleur. "Because she spent her entire life fighting scum like _them_ and the ABB and the Merchants and now she's-" Amy choked, tears falling from her eyes.

"That doesn't make you a bad person. You've done more than enough-"

"I did _too_ _much_ ," Amy said. "All those years...I should never have started healing villains to begin with."

Dean didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded.

"I've thought about it, you know, engineering a plague to wipe them all out," Amy continued.

"They'd send you to the Birdcage," he said. "Victoria wouldn't have wanted that for you."

"How would _you_ know?"

"Because I knew her too," Dean said. "Maybe not as well as you did, but I knew her."

Her shoulders dipped, some of the tenseness leaving. She was calmer now, distinctly less hostile. That was one potential crisis to the world averted.

"Your family has been asking about you," he said. "They're worried. You haven't gone home since..."

"Even my mother?"

Dean didn't answer.

"Typical," she said.

There was no point defending how Brandish was acting, not to Amy. He didn't want to be seen as the enemy, not to her.

"Have you been sleeping enough?"

"Enough to keep healing," she answered. "And before you ask, I eat whenever the nurses force me to take a break."

"No one wants you to get hurt," he said.

She snorted. "Because of my great personality, I'm sure. Is that why the Director is giving me a bodyguard? To keep an eye on me?"

Ah, so she knew about that. "Maybe. Probably," Dean said. "I can't really say. The Director didn't share her reasons."

"So how'd you get the job?"

"I volunteered for it."

"That wasn't her call to make," Amy said. "I'm New Wave. I don't report to her."

"Lady Photon agreed."

She looked at him, surprised. "She did?"

"Like I said, they're worried about you. And to be honest, if you aren't healing villains anymore, you'll need the protection."

"Are you saying I shouldn't stop healing them?" She huffed. "It's my powers! I-"

"I'm saying you have to be careful, Amy. Now more than ever. If not for your own sake, then for hers," Dean said. "Which hospital's on your rotation tomorrow?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Because I need to tell the higher ups or they'll put a tracker on you and I _don't_ want that. You shouldn't be treated like a prisoner because of what you're doing."

"Maybe they should," she said bitterly. "I am my father's daughter."

 _What was that about? Something about her biological father maybe?_ Dean frowned. She got on well enough with Flashbang, unless something happened recently. Whatever it was clearly upset her, but there wasn't enough information to work with.

"You're you," he said, settling for safety in vagueness. "That's all you are."

She stared at him. He stared back. She looked away and mumbled, "PRT Camp Central. I'm working my way north."

 _Away from New Wave territory_ , he thought. _Away from her family._

Dean nodded. One step a day. He couldn't afford mistakes, not when it felt like defusing a landmine with dynamite.

It would be slow, but it was progress.

 _-Resonance-_

He would have liked it if they had talked more, but with how busy she was being rushed from patient to patient, the opportunity never really came up in the day. During meals, well, she was usually shovelling food down her throat so fast he would have thought she was trying to choke herself.

Dean still thought that was her goal some days.

And after the meals it was back to work for her. At the end of each day, she was too tired to do anything but sleep. Never more than five hours though, she'd force herself awake with coffee.

The best part? Dean had to match her pace. He ate when she ate, went where she went and slept where she slept. He'd be the first to admit he was born into money and maybe more than a little pampered, but Amy's schedule wasn't just unhealthy, it was suicidal.

Which, he supposed, was kind of her point. Amy might be able to return him into a perfectly healthy state, but who could do the same for her?

Four days into the assignment, he was beginning to regret volunteering at all. "We're almost at Brockton Bay General," he grunted, his visor's sights zooming in and calculating the distance left. "Half a mile."

Though with all the wreckage and detouring they had to do, it would be safer to say double that distance. He would never take cars or _flying_ for granted ever again.

"Is this our only stop for today?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Amy said, "unless something unplanned comes up."

As they neared the hospital, he spotted a pair of kids, just a bit younger than himself, staring and whispering. They were excited...for some reason.

That was new as far as reactions went. Relief, sure they got plenty of that. Anger for not coming sooner? An almost daily occurrence. But excited?

The kids continued to watch them, following from a distance until they were inside the hospital.

"Panacea! Thank goodness you've arrived," the nurse at the reception said, rushing over.

"Where am I needed?" she asked.

"With Dr. Crosby first, room 302," he said. "I can show you the way-"

"It's fine," Amy said. "I know where it is."

Dean turned around to see if the kids were still watching them. One of them still was. The other had run off somewhere, maybe to tell their friends? Maybe one of the gangs.

Best to be on guard, just in case. If needed, he could always call in backup from New Wave's fliers or from the Rig - the Protectorate's base offshore, near the Boat Graveyard.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Hopefully.


	10. Ruin-08: Permission to heal

**AN: In honor of gravity waves, you can have this update.**

 **Chapter 08: Permission to heal**

"You doing okay, Boss?" Dart asked.

"Fine," I said, keeping my eyes set in front of me...not that I needed to anymore really. My vibration sense was a better guide than my impaired sight ever was, eyeglasses or no. In any case, it gave me an excuse to hide my face...not that I needed to, since I had the mask.

I could sense him still looking at me with my vibrations. "You're looking a bit tired there."

"No Merchants here," I said, keeping my steps smaller than usual. "Let's double back."

"If you need a break-"

"This way," I interrupted, leading us through an alley that I knew to be the shortest path.

"I'm just saying," Dart continued, "the last few days have been stressful and you _are_ still a teenager, Resonance."

"It really wouldn't be a big deal if we stopped awhile," Rico added.

"I can keep going," I said, stepping forward forcefully and my right abdomen screeched at me.

The two of them stopped and frowned at me. "No you're not," Dart said. "You're hurting somewhere. You need to rest."

"We need to keep watch over Polk Street. It only has a few obstructions, so if the Merchants use their cars, they'll probably pass by there."

He crossed his arms. "Stop changing the subject."

I turned to glance at the dockworker. "I thought I was the leader here, Dart?"

"You are," Dart said, "but it's our job to look out for you when you aren't doing it right. And right now, you need to go slower."

"If we do that, the Merchants will get past us," I said. "The camp can't afford that."

"We've got the medicine from the E88 now." I scowled. He must have caught it despite my mask, because he said, "It was the right thing to do. Nobody blames you for taking it."

"The _medicine_ ," I spat out like something bitter, "doesn't solve our food shortage. If the Merchants get past us, Kurt's group will be in danger and that _can't_ happen."

Dart hesitated. "I know you don't like the E88. Hell, nobody in the camp does, but they did promise food-"

"You really want to put our lives in their hands?" I asked, looking at his skin pointedly. " _Your_ life?"

"Well, no, but if they wanna give us stuff, I'm not gonna say no. I don't see the need to push yourself this far."

"I don't want to give them any more leverage over us." I shook my head. "Not if I can help it. Besides, we don't know if they'll follow through on that. They have their own people to feed too, and if it comes down to a choice between them and us, they'll pick theirs every single time."

Something entered into my vibration's range from the direction of the camp. A single male...Dad? My brows furrowed. "Someone's here," I said.

Dart tightened his grip on his weapon. "Gonna be a problem?"

"Maybe, but not that kind of problem. It's Danny."

"Eh?" Rico tilted his head. "What is he doing here?"

"Let's find out," I said.

Dad stopped at an intersection. He knew I knew he was there, which meant he was waiting for us to go to him.

"Danny," I called out as we approached.

His head turned towards us. "We found her," Dad said, smiling. "We found Panacea."

"That's great! Where is she?" I asked.

"Brockton Bay General," he said. "I want you to go talk to her with me."

I frowned. "Why? Don't you need me here to keep an eye out?"

"This is more important. Panacea might not believe I am who I am, with how bad the city's gotten. I'm sure people have tried to kidnap her for her powers by now," Dad said.

"What makes you think she'll trust me anymore than you?"

"Because you're a cape, Resonance. And the PRT knows who you are." Dad pointed to himself with his thumb. "Me? I'm unpowered, a non-factor. They've got no reason to remember my name or get on my good side."

"Panacea helps everyone. She doesn't discriminate," I said.

Dad shrugged. "She might, but there's another cape with her. Gallant? He's with the PRT and _he'd_ be against her going off with a complete stranger."

"Well if Gallant's really there, he'd know you were telling the truth. His power's let him read emotions," I pointed out. "I just don't see how me being there would leave us better off than staying here."

"Maybe so, but the PRT will think twice before saying no to a prospective Ward recruit."

I crossed my arms. "They're not going to just bend over and give me what I want. It doesn't work like that."

"Kurt agrees with me," Dad said. "He's shifting his search further east just in case the Merchants attack today."

"Well, what about the camp?" I asked.

"I think the guys can keep it safe for a few hours," he said.

"Not against a cape," I said. I leaned in closer, whispering, "And what if that new guy wakes up and ends up being hostile? I'm the only one who'd be able to stop him."

Dad looked at me pointedly. "I don't think the odds of that happening are very high. As for the Merchants, no one's seen their capes since two nights ago, during the attack."

"You'll be faster without me. I'm…injured."

"Even more reason for you to go then," Dad said. "Even if she doesn't agree to come to the camp, at the very least she'd heal you up. We need you healthy." He sighed. "If...if you're hurt, you can't fight very well."

"You should go," Dart interjected, slinging his shotgun. "Me 'n Rico can handle things here. The sooner you leave, the sooner you get back." He inclined the barrel towards the road leading to the hospital. "Go on."

I nodded.

"You know, we haven't had a chance to talk alone since we got to camp, _Taylor_ ," he stressed the last word, as if enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. "God, it's felt like ages since I could call you that."

"Three days isn't that long, Dad." He was right though. It did feel good. It was familiar; a semblance of returning normality, no matter how small of brief. "How are the talks with the mayor?" I asked.

"Not great," he said, his shoulders slumping. "The local government's resources are overstretched at the moment."

"Sure, but that's what the national government is for," I said.

Dad rubbed his cheeks with both hands. "The folks in DC are still on the fence about the city, apparently."

My face scrunched. "What do you mean?"

"It costs a lot of money to rebuild a city, Taylor. It's not something they'd decide on immediately."

"What's there to think about? It's a yes or a no."

Dad snorted. "It's never that simple when the government's involved."

"They didn't take very long for New York," I said.

"Sure, but Brockton Bay _isn't_ New York. We were never that prosperous as a city to begin with, in the days before the Endbringers. When all the politicians hear about us is our terrible economy and high crime rates, it gets hard to justify spending that much money on rebuilding."

"Abandon Brockton Bay?" Sure, it was a shitty city, but it was _my_ shitty city. "They can't do that! That's...that's not right."

"No, it isn't."

I kept quiet as we entered what was nominally "Undersider turf". With my vibrations, I could see that most of the still standing buildings had clusters of people in them. Neighbors or friends grouping up to increase their odds of survival, maybe? They were sticking around instead of heading for the PRT camps, so I could only presume Tattletale hadn't been lying about them taking care of their people.

There were a few heavily armed men standing around, though they didn't bother us. "Those guys look like they mean business," Dad said wearily. "Ex-military, I think."

"Because of their weapons?" I took note of the assault rifles they carried.

"The equipments one tell, but it's more how they hold themselves," Dad said. "They're constantly aware of what's going on around them, keeping their eyes sharp. And they stick near cover, just in case they get attacked. I had a few guys like that in the Union some time ago."

They didn't look government to me though, and they definitely weren't cheap, if their gear was anything to go by.

Whoever was backing the Undersiders had plenty of money to throw around.

Brockton Bay General came into sight, looking much better than I expected. The building seemed much better of structurally relative to those I'd seen on the way here...not that I knew much about engineering. Maybe Eidolon had done something to it? Strengthened the interior with his powers somehow? Hospitals _were_ vital to the city, now more so than ever.

We entered through the hospital's doors, left open for some reason. The man at the counter looked like-

I blinked. "George? Is that you?"

George's smile dropped. "How do you know my name?"

I felt Dad glance at us uncertainly.

"It's me," I said, pulling on the soundwaves around us to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. "Taylor."

His eyes widened, then he grinned. "So you went to the costume shop after all."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Thanks for that, by the way. Really helped with the whole secret identity thing."

"Was the least I could do."

"How's Claire?" I asked. "Is she doing better?"

"She is, thanks for asking." He stepped out from behind the counter and looked me over appraisingly. "How about you though? Are you doing alright? I've heard some stories about what it's like-" he tilted his head towards the door, "-out there."

I sighed. "I'm not going to lie. It's not looking too good."

"How do you two know each other, _Resonance_?" Dad interrupted, putting emphasis on my cape name. I guess he didn't want George to know he was my dad?

"Taylor, well, Resonance now, saved my daughter, Claire, the day Behemoth attacked," George said proudly.

I flushed.

"She helped us when no one else would."

"Sounds heroic," Dad said, nodding his head amiably. "Just like her really."

"Are you hurt?" George asked, facing me again. "Panacea's here today. I could pull a few strings, make sure you get looked over."

"I'm-"

"She is, actually," Dad said, giving me a look.

"Just a little bit," I mumbled. "And it's not _that_ bad."

"I disagree."

"Little things, left untreated, could get complicated quickly," George agreed.

"Well, it can wait," I said. " _I'm_ not the reason we're here today, Danny. Panacea is."

George glanced at us a worriedly. "You knew she was going to be here?"

"We had someone keeping an eye out at the hospitals, just in case she swung by," I said. "It's not looking good back in our camp, George. We could really use Panacea's help."

"You _lead_ a camp?" he asked.

"No, I just protect them from any troublemakers, keep the peace, that sort of thing. I don't make the rules." I pointed to Dad with my thumb. "He does."

"I'm Danny Hebert," Dad said, thrusting a hand out to shake George's hand. "I'm in charge of a camp just north of here, comprised primarily of the dockworkers and some family. The Merchants have been hitting us hard the past few days."

"A lot of people need Panacea's help…" George trailed off.

"We don't deny that, George, but not everyone needs her help equally. Some of our people might die without help soon. Good, hardworking folks who just want to build this city and build it _better_." The nurse frowned. "We're not asking _you_ for anything, other than giving us a chance to talk to Panacea."

I caught the George's eye and smiled widely. "I...I guess I can talk to some people."

"That's all we're asking for," Dad said, letting a hand rest on the counter beside him.

"Wait here. I'll go talk to Dr. Crosby."

I continued to track him with my vibrations and that led me straight to where this Dr. Crosby was. He accompanied a teenage girl, Panacea I assumed, from room to room.

It didn't take George long to return.

"Uh oh, I don't like that look of his," Dad murmured. "A problem, George?"

"Dr. Crosby was fine with it, but Panacea...wasn't as open to the idea. She said she had too much work to do here to make a trip that far north," George said.

A cold and heavy hand threatened to crush my chest.

"Does she?" Dad asked. "How many patients are there in this hospital?"

"I can't tell you that. It's confidential."

"Alright, don't," Dad said. "Let me make an educated estimate. It's been five days since Behemoth. Most of the serious cases are probably dead or healed. Right?"

George nodded slowly.

"So, most of the patients here probably have moderate ailments they need taken care of or have non-serious injuries. And maybe a small percentage, say a hundred people, who are hurt really badly. Resonance, how long would it take Panacea to heal someone, on average?" Dad asked.

"Um," I thought about it, "under five minutes, if I had to guess? I'm not really sure."

"Okay, so five minutes, for a hundred people, that's about eight to nine hours of work for Panacea. I'd say this place has about a thousand people, maybe five hundred of them have stuff she should be fixing, and the rest are just wasting time."

My brow rose. "What? Why would anyone deliberately waste Panacea's time?" People were dying and you were wasting her time? That was just _sick_.

"It's not quite that simple," George said. "The doctors do their best, but without their equipment diagnosis isn't easy. It's difficult to tell which cases are best treated now and which can be safely ignored for the time being."

I frowned. There had to be _something_ that could be done. Panacea-

My eyes widened and I took a shaky step backwards. I became painfully aware of the every beat of my heart, how it squeezed and throbbed, sending blood coursing through veins and arteries like a vast network of rivers.

"Resonance?" A worried expression settled on Dad's face. "Are you okay?"

"My vibrations," I croaked out, staring down at my hands. "They're...gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Dad asked, perplexed.

"As in _gone_! I-I can't feel them anymore," I said, my voice rising in pitch with each word. I pushed out with my palms, willing my shockwaves out, willing the world to leave me _alone_.

"No. No no no."

'Resonance?"

Nothing. Not even a ripple.

My hands became fists. "No!" This wasn't _fair_. Powers weren't supposed to just disappear! That wasn't _possible_!

"Taylor."

Dad gripped my arm and I felt him. I felt _all_ of him.

From the smallest contraction of his throat as he spoke to the wiggling of his toes. Every cell and every organ showed themselves to me. Even the microfractures that hid in his bones were plain as day. The experience was... _surreal_.

I breathed out.

What was going on with me?

"Are you okay?" Dad peered at me, still holding onto my wrist.

"Give me a moment," I murmured.

He nodded and let go of me. Without my vibrations around me like a protective blanket, I felt naked. I didn't like the feeling. I hadn't realized how attached I'd gotten to my powers until now.

Then, like a switch inside my brain flicked on, my vibrations returned in full force, rolling out from myself in comforting waves, steadily building up my awareness of my surroundings. I could sense Panacea was still within range, walking from room to room with an urgency I found admirable.

Maybe my powers weren't _just_ vibrations after all.

Disintegrating the bathroom stall's door, phasing through a wall, controlling metals, turning myself invisible - each of these were applications of my power I hadn't been able to replicate. Each one originally occurred while I was near a cape. Maybe my powers let me _copy_ another cape's powers temporarily.

The phasing thing reminded me of Shadow Stalker. She was probably nearby during the Behemoth attack. That new Merchant cape, Scrapyard, used magnetic waves. The invisibility and silencing effect I had displayed with the Undersiders, that was probably because of their Stranger's doing, Imp. And now, the whole shift in my Manton Limitation from affecting nonliving to living things, that was me copying Panacea.

The thing is, all those still made use of vibrations. It wasn't a direct copy of their powers...more like an imitation, a reapplication of my own powers.

How did my powers know which cape to copy though? Was there a time limit to how long I could borrow one? Could it be repeated or was it a one-time thing? What was my range? Could I do multiple capes?

It didn't need me to be aware of the act or command it to do so, that much was certain. An idea began to form in my head.

"George, you said the doctors didn't have their equipment right?"

"Yes," he said.

"What sort of equipment? Could you describe how they worked to me?"

He began to do so, summarizing how MRIs, CT scans, x-rays, ultrasounds and much more worked. I took note of those which sounded replicable with my vibrations. My replica of Panacea's powers didn't give me the medical knowledge or intuition I'd need to diagnose these people by myself, but I could help the doctors that _did_ have the training.

Now I just had to figure out a way to copy her again.

So if I didn't need to be aware of the act for it to happen, maybe my powers just respond to my wants? I needed to escape the bathroom so I mimicked Shadow Stalker's phasing. I really wanted to stab that prick Scrapyard with his own metal, so my powers emulated his. I wanted to hide, so I imitated Imp.

If it was simply a matter of want, then this would be simple enough. I wanted to help these people, because doing so would help my people.

My vibrations disappeared again and despite being ready for it, despite knowing it was a temporary thing, I couldn't help feeling sad.

I turned to George. "I think I might be able to help you out with the equipment."

By myself, I might not know what to look for to see if something was wrong with someone. But a doctor could tell me.

 _-Resonance-_

"So you're the hero that's been asking for me," Panacea said just a few hours past the midday sun, Gallant flanking her, looking very much the knight in his suit of armor.

"Yes, I'm Resonance," I said, "and this is Danny Hebert, the leader of our camp."

Panacea nodded. "Well, you helped me out here by sorting out the non-serious cases, so I guess it's only fair that I ask. What can I do for you? Healing?"

"Not for myself, for the people in my camp," I said.

"Also for her too, actually. If it's not any trouble," Dad said. "Resonance is being modest, but modesty doesn't heal injuries,"

She extended a hand towards me. "Permission to heal you?"

"Thanks," I said, taking it.

"Your kidney is bruised," she noted.

Oh. So that's why my side was hurting. Wait, wasn't that the same place I got shot when those Merchants attacked Dad and me?

"A few worn out muscles, some nutritional deficiencies and some of your bones need strengthening," she said. "Your eyesight could use a touchup too. I can't do anything about the nutritional deficiencies, but I can fix everything else."

"Um, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but why not?" I asked curiously.

"I can't create matter from nothing and you don't exactly have enough body fat for me to do so safely," she explained. "Normally I'd just tell you to eat plenty of food afterwards, but with the city's shortages, well..."

"That's fine then," I said. "Thank you for doing this by the way."

"Done," she said, removing her hand from mine.

I took off my glasses and- wow. Were colors normally that vibrant? Twenty-twenty vision was awesome!

"So about your camp," Panacea began, "you wanted me to go look your people over?"

"Some of our people are barely hanging on," I said. "We don't have any doctors, nurses or pharmacists with us and they're too hurt to move."

"Where's your camp?" Gallant asked, his voice rougher than I imagined it would be.

"We're situated in the docks," Dad answered, "at the Union's office, to be specific."

Gallant turned to Panacea. "It's not that I don't want you to help, but they're right next to Merchant territory. It's going to be dangerous if they happen to attack, especially with their two new capes."

Panacea crossed her arms and gave him a stubborn look.

"Let me call in some backup," Gallant continued. "From New Wave, or the Wards, if you prefer."

"Not the Protectorate?" I asked.

The armored cape shook his head. "Too busy right now keeping the supply convoys safe."

"Fine," Panacea said. "Ask one of my cousins."

Gallant nodded and touched his ear, walking away, leaving us in silence.

It was painfully awkward. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Gallant returned. "Shielder's coming. He'll be here in fifteen minutes."

"Good," Panacea said.

"You should get some rest while you can," Gallant said.

I looked closer at Panacea now, noticing the heavy bags circling her eyes almost hidden by the spark, the fierce determination in her eyes.

"I'll be fine," she said, waving him off. "Come on, let's wait by the entrance."

Gallant sighed, but followed anyway.


	11. Ruin-09: They killed my sister

**AN:** A big thanks to Rayndeon (Luolang), NuScorpii (syzygy) and VereorNox for the help

 **Chapter 09: "They killed my sister."**

Blue: it was the first thing you'd notice about Shielder. From the shield motif on his white bodysuit to the tint of his visor and even his hair. He looked almost like one of those power rangers on TV.

"Panacea!" he greeted, landing like it was second nature to him. "Are you doing alright out here?"

Panacea shrugged and looked away. I'd say she was really bad at the whole socializing thing, but then again, I wasn't one to talk.

The New Wave cape's smile died a little.

"Shielder, good to have you with us," Gallant said quickly. "How are things in the East End?"

"Surprisingly quiet," he replied. "The Empire's not fighting, keeping to themselves for the most part really. You'd barely know they were there if they weren't recruiting so damn much."

So Krieg wasn't lying about the Empire being scared of Eidolon.

Gallant nodded. "That's good to hear. The longer they stay that way, the better for the city."

"So, where are we headed? You never did say," Shielder said.

"An independent camp by the docks. Speaking of which," -Gallant gestured towards me and Dad- "these two are Resonance and Mr. Hebert from said camp."

We exchanged a round of pleasantries before Shielder asked Panacea, "Since when did you have time to help out independent camps? I thought you didn't have enough hours in a day just to deal with the hospitals?"

"It's a long story, but in short, Resonance helped us out so the least I could do is give her people a checkup," Panacea said.

I frowned. "You don't have to-"

Panacea waved away my concerns with her hand. "It's fine."

"You can give me the full version on the way then." Shielder turned his sights on the horizon. "Not a lot of daylight left."

"Three hours and sixteen minutes to be precise," Gallant said. "Might be better if you fly them there Shielder."

"Well, it would be faster even if I had to carry them one at a time," Shielder said. "My flying does suck though. It's not going to be comfortable."

"We just need fast," Gallant said.

"I should probably go first in that case," I said, "to give you directions." I could sense Dad frown through my vibrations. Why though? The sooner I was back in camp, the safer our people would be. I didn't wanted to leave them vulnerable longer than strictly necessary and I was sure Dad agreed with the sentiment at least.

"I better head out now. Shielder doesn't have the strength to carry me with my armor," Gallant said.

"I'll go with you, Gallant," Dad offered. "You don't know the area like I do."

Gallant tapped his visor twice. "No need, sir. There's a map of the city in my visor that's linked to the latest satellite feeds. I won't get lost."

"See you there!" Shielder said as the Ward took off at a sprinting pace, before turning to me. "I'm going to have to carry you. Do you mind?"

I spread my arms by way of invitation. Dad's frown deepened as Shielder had me in a bridal carry and we were off.

"So..." Shielder said as we rose into the air shakily, "why Resonance?"

"What do you mean?"

"The name, your cape name. Why'd you pick that one?" he asked.

"I didn't," I said. "Aegis did."

"Huh. Well, what did you call yourself before that?"

"I didn't call myself anything, though the people back at camp called me cape girl, if that counts. Names don't seem too important with all of this," I gestured to a crumbling building beneath us, "happening."

"Are you thinking of changing it?" he asked.

I raised a brow at him as he glanced down at me. "This coming from the cape named _Shielder_?" That probably came out more biting than I intended.

"Heh, you got me there." He chuckled. "Call this friendly advice from someone who's been in the scene for a long time. If you're not happy with your name, you should change it now while you're still fairly new and unknown."

"You don't like yours?"

"It's not that I dislike it, but I was a kid when I chose the name." It's not that I was trying to judge him but the name did sound a tad juvenile.

"Why not change it?" I asked.

"Kinda attached to it now, I guess. And it just seems like _such_ a pain to rebrand myself like that. It's not impossible, but I'm not sure the hassle is worth it, y'know?" he said.

I didn't know actually, but answered with a sound of agreement nonetheless.

"Hold on," Shielder said, landing on the roof of a nearby building with a sigh. "Man, I wish Gl-" He stopped abruptly.

"Were you going to say something?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing." And we were cruising through the air again.

It took a few minutes and more than a few stops, but we made it to the docks eventually.

"There." I pointed to the three-story building that was the camp's only source of shelter.

"Resonance!" one of the kids called out in surprise as we descended. I guess they got called back to camp once word got around that we'd found Panacea. Every eye in the vicinity locked onto us.

"I'm getting the feeling we weren't expected," Shielder muttered.

" _You_ weren't," I corrected. "But a cape landing in the middle of a crowd never goes unnoticed."

"Why is that even? Flying's not a very interesting power," he said.

"All powers are interesting if you don't have any," I said. Plus, it was _flying_. That was always going to be cool for those of us resigned to walking.

"Right," he said, rising into the air slowly, before accelerating away in sporadic bursts.

"Resonance, was that Shielder?" Cassie asked.

I nodded. "He'll be back with Panacea soon. Do you know which of the injured are the worst off? She'll see them first."

She rattled off a few names, though I couldn't match any of them to a face except for Big Joe. Cassie bit her lip. "What about our guest? He's been drifting in and out of sleep."

Our guest, the suspected cape. "Did he seem hostile?"

"I don't know," she said. "I don't think he was even lucid. Kept mumbling about someone named Evan?"

Maybe his friend or family. I filed that away for later. Right now, it wasn't likely he'd attack us based on what Cassie was telling me, but I still couldn't completely dismiss the possibility, especially if he wasn't all there yet mentally. And if he was the same guy as the cape who'd been making all those explosions we'd heard a few days ago, it could get very dangerous very quickly.

Better if we save him for last then. I had to prioritize my people.

"He isn't in any danger of dying. He'll have his turn after our people have been looked over," I said.

Shielder was back with Panacea - who looked a bit airsick- in a little over ten minutes, as opposed to an hour-long walk. And he wondered why flying was great.

"Moment," Panacea muttered, doubling over after they landed. "Okay, let's go."

"This way," I said, leading Panacea towards our triage while Shielder left to get Dad.

Most of the cases didn't take her very long to fix. She might even make it back to the hospital before nightfall at the rate she was going. Her powers really were something special.

"You've got a lot of medical supplies here," Panacea noted, inclining his head towards the half-open bag the _Nazis_ had given us on the side table. "Most of them won't be of much use to you guys."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She pointed to the topmost bottle, its label apparently visible to her. "For example, that one is maintenance for diabetes and none of you have that. It would be a huge help for the hospitals though. You should consider donating some to them."

"I'll bring it up with the others," I said.

Panacea nodded. "Okay, I'm done here. Was that everyone?"

"There's actually one more guy."

Her lips curled into a frown. "Did I miss someone in this room?"

"He's in a different room," I admitted, leading Panacea to the corridor outside where Gallant and Shielder were talking.

"Oh. Did he catch something?" she asked, sounding unconcerned, though the boys ceased their conversation to listen in on ours.

"No. We think he might be a cape," I said in a low voice to the three of them. "He arrived two days ago and he's been in and out of consciousness. He wasn't all there whenever he woke, so I've been told."

"Lead the way," Panacea said. We started walking again.

"Any idea who the cape might be?" Gallant asked.

"There were these explosions in the Boardwalk a few days ago, I'm not sure if the PRT knows about it?" I said uncertainly.

"Who doesn't," Shielder said. "I live on the East End and even I heard it. Are you saying this guy was the cause of that?"

My shoulders rose and fell. "I think so, but I'm not sure. He might not even be a cape in truth."

"I can check for a Corona Pollentia," Panacea said.

Then daintily, the earth quivered. A roofless, six-wheeled monstrosity rolled towards us, the bastard child of a tank and a steamroller. There was a single, wide cylinder mounted in front of it, transforming everything it touched into fine sheets. Turrets and nozzles cropped out of it at awkward angles too.

Only Squealer would bother with the vehicular frankenstein.

"Excuse me," I said suddenly, guesstimating the speed of the tank-thingy. "This is Resonance," I announced, pushing my sound waves as far as I could, "the Merchants are two minutes out. Get to cover people. I'll handle this."

I felt the people began to move, an urgency in their steps as I released my control over the soundwaves.

"What?" Shielder asked. "How do you-"

"How many?" Gallant interrupted.

I channeled my vibrations towards the direction the Merchants were coming from specifically, waiting for a clearer image to form before replying. "Five of their capes, a few dozen gang members and a tank of some sort. Mush isn't with them."

"A tank?" Shielder's visor couldn't hide his brief expression of surprise from my powers. "Cute. Where'd they get one of those?"

"I can't ask you guys to fight-"

"We're fighting," Panacea cut me off.

Panacea was fighting?! The very idea was dichotomic. Panacea _never_ fought, that was her thing, but the way she said it was serious. Did Panacea actually have an aggressive side to her?

Panacea turned to Gallant. "We're fighting," she repeated, calm and cold.

"I'll call in the PRT," Gallant said, opening up a channel of communication with their headquarters.

"Since when did you get into cape fights?" Shielder asked, raising a brow at her. "That was always…" he trailed off.

Always Glory Girl's thing, my mind supplied.

"Since they killed my sister," Panacea answered curtly.

Glory Girl was dead? But she was an Alexandria package, one of the strongest there was! How could she have-

"Resonance, show me where the cape is," Panacea said, her tone brooking no other course of action. "I'll heal him before the fighting starts."

My body moved of its own volition to the room. It was a short trip.

"He's in there," I said.

She walked in without another word.

"The PRT is on their way," Gallant said, "but with the road conditions as they are in this area, it might take a while."

"We'll just have to hold them off then," Shielder said, projecting a small shield above his hand. "Shouldn't be too hard. They're just Merchants after all."

"They have a tank," Gallant pointed out.

Shielder snorted. "I'd like to see them try and get past my shield." Then he frowned. "Wait, five Merchants, you said? I thought there were only four of them."

"They've been recruiting," Gallant said. "Always plenty of new triggers after an Endbringer hits."

"Do we know anything about them?" Shielder asked.

"I've fought one of them," I said. "Name's Scrapyard. He has some form of magnetism, uses it to manipulate these pencil-thin slabs of steel. He isn't very smart. The other one is called Doser."

"Doser?" Shielder repeated. "Sounds like a drug pun."

"Maybe his powers are related to drugs," Gallant mused.

"What? Like he needs heroin to use his powers or something?" Shielder said sarcastically.

Then I sensed one of the Merchant capes begin changing into a human-esque dragon, complete with the prehensile tail.

Holy shit. Was Doser a mini-Lung? We _really_ didn't need another overpowered psycho on the streets.

"Doser just turned into a human-sized dragon," I said.

"Sounds like a changer," Gallant said.

"Sounds like another _Lung_ ," Shielder said.

"We have to go," I told them. "They're almost here."

Nine capes total within my range, counting the one Panacea was healing. I didn't know which Merchant cape wasn't here though. Now, whose power to copy? Panacea's striker power seemed like it could be powerful, but it wasn't what I needed right now. Besides, it seemed a bit too _lethal_ for my liking, the whole manipulating vibrations through a person's body. I could accidentally blow up their heart or sever their spinal cord and that didn't sit well with me.

Squealer and Trainwreck were out too. I didn't see a way for their powers to translate into anything useful for this fight, considering they were tinkers. Doser was a changer of some sort, so equally useless?

Skidmark and Shielder had defensive powers. Scrapyard and probably Gallant had offensive oriented ones. No clue about the unconscious cape had.

The tank was already visible by the time we got to the camp's entrance. Squealer was painfully vulnerable, her head a tempting target as she controlling the machine from a standing position. She fiddled with all sorts of levers and knobs and buttons, a grin plastered onto her face.

Skidmark stood up next to her, a megaphone in hand. "The Merchants are here, bitches!"

BOOM!

Something blurred past me, a shrill, shrieking noise leaving my ears ringing in its wake and Trainwreck was just _gone_. No, not gone - relocated backwards. I'd say teleported but a gaping hole marked his exit through a shipping container.

Doser roared, his metallic skin glistening as it caught what little light was left, and suddenly he had crossed half the distance in a single, powerful leap, deep gouges marking where he had once stood.

"I'm going for the tank!" Shielder shouted to us, launching himself on a shaky trajectory that would carry him over the lizardman.

Gallant aimed a palm at him and released a thick glob of blue light that was almost sluggish to look at, dissipating as it bounced into Doser's chest. Doser didn't even pause.

Wave after wave of violent energy rocketed out of my hands as Gallant shot more blasts of brilliant light at the dragon-esque cape.

Doser slowed, but not enough. He was snarling, spittle and drool dripping from his mouth as he used his powerful legs to lunge at us again.

I moved to the side and Gallant did the same opposite of me. We didn't have to make this easier for Doser by clumping together.

Then Gallant froze. I could sense his body struggling with his suit, but the metal armor had become unresponsive to him, almost as if an invisible hand had it in its grip.

Scrapyard, I realized, as Doser reached the Ward, lifting him up before ramming him straight into the ground. I charged up a blast to strike Doser, knock him off balance, give Gallant some-

Movement! Need to-

My hands shot out on instinct, waves visibly rippling outwards, almost looking _solid_.

Scrapyard's steel slabs slammed into my barrier and just...stopped, as if they had hit a wall. The projectiles were fast, faster than when we'd last fought and had blunted on impact. But as they were tugged backwards by invisible strings the ends remolded themselves into their sharpened forms.

Sounds of gunfire reached me. They were aimed skyward, against Shielder and-

Another wave of steel rushed me, from different angles this time and I was forced to "curve" my barrier into a sphere around me.

They pulled back again, right before I felt cold steel hit me from the side. I was sent sprawling to the ground, my forearm lightly aching from the force of the impact.

I pushed myself up from the ground hastily, spotting Gallant's prone form a few feet from me. He was still breathing, but it felt shallow. Unconscious, I thought. Doser was standing there, just standing there, staring at us with blank eyes.

There was someone running towards me, faintly feeling of steel and flesh and grease.

I turned around, spotting Trainwreck briefly, his face, smeared with dirt in the latest hobo fashion, was visible through his steam-powered suit. I could sense a body lying limply where he had crashed at the start of the fight.

Vibrations coalesced at the tip of my fingers and I unleashed them, sending the gathered waves into a violent collision with Trainwreck. The blast lifted him off of his feet and onto his back.

I heard Doser growl, even with everything that was going on around us and I took a step backwards, monitoring him warily with my vibration sense for signs of movement. His leg muscles (did he even have those in his transformed state?) contracted, and I was already moving further back as he launched himself into the air.

If I hadn't, I would've been turned into a pancake. The ground where he landed had shattered into a thousand pieces, rubble scattering away from ground zero like shrapnel. My shockwaves weren't going to cut it against him.

Then Doser _moved_ in a silver blur and I was suddenly confronted with a pair of yellowed slits just inches away.

 _Shit!_ I scrambled back again, the ground around me trembling as I tried to push him away, but his clawed feet were dug into the ground and his hands had mine in a deathgrip. The pressure on my arms built steadily, my limbs protesting as I felt my bones begin to crack. His tail wound around my neck like a steel vise, squeezing with a force that left me breathless.

Air! Breath, needed-

The vibrations doubled, _tripled_ in intensity, the energy of a small earthquake trying, futilely, to shake him off.

My eyes centered for a brief moment on Doser's yellowed and rotting teeth.

Spots of black started to cloud my vision as I gasped for air that just wasn't _there_.

More power. I needed-

Lub...Dub. Lub...Dub. Slow and syrupy blood. Target, _attack!_ Brain- heart- neck- spine- _eye_!

An invisible hand curled and _pop_!

Blood and viscous matter splattered across my mask and I was sent flying away to the side.. My vibrations absorbed the impact as I landed and I painfully propped myself up on my hands and knees, gasping as air returned to my lungs. Doser screamed and thrashed and raged, his tail carving up chunks of cement like they weren't there, sending up clouds of gray dust.

Someone threw a packet of white powder at Doser and he caught it easily, one hand still covering his oozing eye socket. Sharp teeth tore the plastic wide open and he dumped its contents down his throat with abandon.

Another layer of steel seemed to coat him as his skin took on a darker hue. Miniscule spikes sprouted out along his entire body, while larger jagged edges made his tail all the more dangerous.

And Panacea just walked up to him, calm as ever, eyes clinically taking him apart.

I frowned, pushing myself onto my feet. What was she doing? "Panacea, get back!"

Doser glanced at me, then at the brown-haired cape, a flash of recognition passing his eyes at the mention of _Panacea_. He tilted his head, confused, when she cupped his face with her hands. That turned out to be an incredibly stupid thing to let her do.

Thud.

Doser collapsed like a house of cards, his breaths becoming slow and laborious, as if each one required herculean effort. His lips were quickly turning into a shade of blue, distinct against his silver coloring.

I didn't have time to contemplate our good fortune before Trainwreck crashed into Panacea, knocking her away from the draconic cape, sending her staggering away. I hobbled towards her, grasping for Shielder's powers again before solidifying a barrier between the Merchants and Panacea for good measure.

"You okay?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the tinker, who was busy looking Doser over.

"Just a scratch," she said unperturbed, brushing some dirt off her costume.

Shielder was standing in front of Squealer's tank, holding it at bay with an unanchored hardlight projection while his shield shrugged off the bullets and Scrapyard's slabs. He must have been holding them and the guns off the entire time, keeping us from being overwhelmed from the start.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, Squealer and Skidmark were scrambling off the tank. They jumped off of it, managing to get clear just seconds before something shrieked past and slammed into the tank with explosive force, obscuring it in billowing smoke.

What the…

My head swiveled around until I saw Miss Militia standing on one of the shipping containers, a rocket launcher slung across her shoulders. Aegis was floating beside her, arms crossed over his chest. The setting sun bathed them in a vivid orange

"Protectorate! Eidolon!" someone shouted, sending the gang into a chaotic rout.

Doser's body rose a few inches off the ground under Scrapyard's influence before it flew away after the fleeing Merchants. Skidmark and Squealer were almost out of my vibrations' range. Trainwreck too, even though he started running later than them. He was a surprisingly good runner for a drug addict.

Miss Militia seemed to say something to Aegis, before jumping off the container while the Ward went and picked up Gallant.

"What did you do to Doser anyway?" I asked Panacea.

"Mild heroin overdose," she said.

I stared. "Isn't that lethal?"

She shrugged in an 'I don't give a fuck' manner. Note to self: _never_ get on Panacea's shit list.

Shielder landed next to us, carrying the suspected explosion cape with him. When had he- the explosion at the start of the fight, the one that had hit Trainwreck. That was his doing.

"You were right. He was a cape," Panacea said, tapping him on the nose lightly. The cape opened his eyes groggily, the bruises on his face fading away.

"You must be Resonance."

My head turned towards the voice and it was Miss Militia with her star-spangled scarf. "I, er, y-yes. I am," I said, flushing.

She nodded at me and it felt like approval for some reason.

Panacea healed Shielder, Gallant and myself, while Miss Militia and Aegis waited for her to finish before saying anything else.

"What happened here?" Miss Militia asked.

"Merchant attack, Ma'am," Gallant answered. "Five capes, their original members minus Mush plus two recruits." He went on to describe Scrapyard and Doser's powers and the part of the fight he saw, before Shielder spoke his piece.

"...so the explosion at the start turned out to be this guy." Shielder pointed to the still unnamed, groggy cape. "Afterwards, Doser rushed us and I fought the tank. Gallant didn't have the firepower to stop it and I wasn't sure what Resonance could do. I figured I was the best chance at keeping it busy, minimize the damage and all that."

"Good call," Miss Militia said.

"Right, so the rest of the fight was just me holding them off with my shield and keeping their tank from moving closer towards the camp," Shielder finished.

Then it was my turn next so I told them what happened, hesitating only when I reached the part where Panacea took out Doser. I wasn't sure if she wanted me to say anything about it...

"I knocked Doser out," Panacea said. "All I did really."

"He just let you walk up to him?" Aegis asked.

"No one ever said the Merchants were smart," she said.

Miss Militia nodded. "Resonance, I can't promise anything, but I'll put in a request with Director Piggot to step up patrols in this area. The Merchants seem to be the most aggressive gang at the moment."

"Thanks. I'd really appreciate that," I said. If this fight had taught me anything, it's that I couldn't fight them on my own. Even going up against just one of them had nearly gotten me killed, and without Panacea, I didn't know if I'd even be in any shape to fight afterwards. "Shielder, Panacea, Gallant, thank you guys for helping me. If you didn't help…"

I, and everyone in the camp, would be dead.

"All part of the job," Gallant said.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Shielder added. "You were pretty good, for a newbie."

"One last order of business before we leave," Miss Militia said, turning to unnamed cape. "Do you have a name?"

"You can call me Torpedo."


	12. Ruin-10: Lord and Savior

**Chapter 10: Lord and Savior**

Early the next day, I dragged myself outside for breakfast. My perfect eyesight spotted Torpedo speaking with a few of the kids, his hands in constant, dizzying motion. A few looked curious, some amused, and yet others disturbed. I pulled on the soundwaves they emitted, extending my hearing range. I mean, it wasn't technically eavesdropping. They were practically making a forum out of it.

"...Lord and Savior, be praised! We are all his children and he watches over us, a shepherd to the flock." Religion? Really? Torpedo didn't strike me as the type. Then again, I shouldn't judge by the cover alone.

"Oh yeah?" one of the kids, I think his name was Josh, asked. "How come he doesn't talk to anyone anymore?"

"All you need to hear has been said in his book," Torpedo said. "He has nothing further to say to the unrepentant, not until this world embraces the Son's light once more."

He was a Christian? Unsurprising in hindsight. Most of the Bay claimed to be, even if the Winslow chess club drew in a larger haul than the local church on Sundays.

"Ah, Resonance!" Torpedo clapped his hands together. "A blessed morning to you."

"A...blessed morning to you too?" I said. "Did you sleep well?"

"I had pleasant visions, yes."

Er, what? Was he talking about dreams? Moving on… "Have you thought about what Miss Militia spoke to you about yesterday? The Protectorate will be in the area this afternoon." They had asked him to join up with the heroes yesterday, Miss Militia making a sales pitch that made me want to join up right now.

"I've prayed about it, but I don't believe that is where I am called to serve by the Christ," Torpedo said.

"Called to serve?" I repeated.

"Yes, my calling, my higher purpose in life," he explained, except it didn't really.

"Like a pastor or something?"

"It would be a great honor to be anointed as priest," he said, "but all of us are called in whatever we do, be it peddler or president."

"Okay, do you have an idea what your 'calling' is then?" I asked.

"I believe he wants me here, with your camp."

I could use the help, but… "Why?"

"The Lord works in mysterious ways." He shrugged. "He must have preserved Brockton Bay from the Great Dragon for a reason."

"The Great Dragon?" Was he talking about-

"Behemoth," Torpedo said, "the eldest brother of the Unholy Trinity."

I frowned. Was that in the Bible? It certainly wasn't in any of the stories I'd heard about.

"It's in Revelations 12 and 13," he explained. "The Great Red Dragon, the Beast from the Sea and the False Prophet."

"But Behemoth is black," I pointed out.

"The color is just a metaphor for all the blood he would spill. Not everything in the Bible should be taken literally."

Riiight. "What makes you think your calling is here?"

He glanced at the sky briefly, a fond smile on his lips. "I was granted a vision."

"You're sure about this?" I asked, one last time. Just to be sure.

"I've never been more certain."

"Then we'd be happy to have you with us," I said. Another cape in the camp would go a long way in shoring up our defenses. Plus, someone watching my back made me feel safer.

Something stirred at the edge of my vibrations.

A...floating car? Krieg and another cape, a girl about my age it looked like.

"Is something the matter, Resonance?" Torpedo asked. "You have this faraway look to you."

"I was just using my powers to scout keep an eye on our surroundings, in case the Merchants attacked again," I said.

"Trouble?"

"Just the Empire wanting to talk."

"Those wretches? What do they want?" he asked.

I didn't answer.

The two of us walked out of camp and waited. It didn't take long.

"Is there a reason you always show up this early?" I asked as they came within range of my unaided voice.

"I get to fit it in with my morning walks. Two birds, one stone," Krieg said, eyeing Torpedo. "Fraulein, I see you've made a new friend."

"You brought one too." The cape with him wore a red and black robe.

"Ah, of course, where are my manners?" Krieg said. "Resonance, this is Rune. Rune, Resonance and…"

"Torpedo," Torpedo said, crossing his arms. "Why is the Empire here?"

"I bring food and aid, as promised." The floating car landed on the ground gently and I peered inside it with my powers. The trunk and backseat were filled with relief goods.

"Thanks," I said.

"Rune, if you'd kindly bring it inside their camp?" Krieg said, locking eyes with me.

"Keep an eye on her, Torpedo."

The car rose into the air again and they fell into step besides it. A barrier sprang into place around us, stopping sound from leaving.

"They can't hear us anymore."

Krieg raised a brow at me, but didn't comment further. "I am glad to see you are well, fraulein. Congratulations on your victory over the Merchants. Was the Protectorate of much help to you?"

I frowned at him. Did the spy-

He tapped his foot against a shard of dislodged concrete. "It's but a simple observation. I've been in enough fights to read the signs," Krieg answered as if reading my mind.

"There is one of you - well, two now I suppose - and six of the Merchants. I do not mean to make little of your skill in battle, but such odds are not easily overcome. Occam's razor suggests you had help, probably from the Protectorate; possibly from New Wave. It is a simple deduction," Krieg said with a smile. "Give me some credit, fraulein. I do not need spies to tell me everything."

"You seem awfully trusting, sharing your observations with me," I said.

"I want you to trust me," he said. "But in truth, there is another reason I came here today. An invitation of sorts, from Kaiser."

"I thought I was clear the last time we spoke," I said. "I'm not joining the Empire."

"Rest assured, it is not what you think." He glanced around.

"No one can hear us."

"I don't doubt your powers, but lips can be read even from a distance, fraulein. It never hurts to be cautious," he said.

He had a point. Why did the Empire have to be so freaking reasonable about things? I tweaked with my powers a little and a visible wave disturbed the air, hopefully blurring us enough to anyone watching.

"There," I said. "We should be safe from that now."

For a moment, Krieg observed the ripples in the air I was making, almost appreciatively. "Two nights from now there will be a meeting between the Empire and the criminal mobs."

"I thought you guys weren't fighting," I said.

"We aren't. This will be a civilized occasion held on neutral grounds." He paused. "As civilized as the barbarians can manage at least."

"Right and what does this have to do with me?" A villain meeting? Was that a thing?

"We want you to attend," Krieg said. "You have faced the Merchants more times than any other cape in the last few days. Your information would be invaluable."

"Everyone will be there?" If I could find out what everyone's been up to, it would be worth going to.

"Not the heroes for obvious reasons, even if they're...vaguely aware of our intentions," he said. "But yes, everyone of importance will be attending. If you want to make a case against them, this would be ideal for you."

"I don't see how. Eidolon's still here," I pointed out.

"He won't be around forever," Krieg said, eyes flashing dangerously. "And when he leaves, the Merchants will get what they deserve."

"That could be months from now," I said. Yesterday had been a close thing and that was with help. What happened the next time I fought the Merchants? What happened when Panacea wasn't there to heal me up? Nothing good for sure.

I shuddered. Most independents didn't last more than six months and I was starting to see why.

"Not months. Weeks more like."

My eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" Was the PRT compromised by the Empire's sympathizers?

Krieg scoffed. "Brockton Bay does not exist in a vacuum. Eidolon's presence here means he is not elsewhere. Other villains will notice soon enough, if they haven't already." He shook his head. "No, the Protectorate cannot afford that. A man whose mere presence can pacify an entire city would not be wasted here, not for that long."

I wanted to say no here and now, but they had just saved my people from starving. Food was only going to get scarcer as each day ticked away, lost either to rot or other people. What were the odds that the Empire would cut us off from food if I said no right away? At the very least I had to appear like I was considering it...or I'd run the risk of insulting them.

Since when did I care about being in Empire's good graces? a dry voice in my head asked.

"Will you go?" Krieg asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

The cape chuckled. "We will not coerce you, fraulein. It is still in our best interests to keep you fed, attend or not."

Because I kept the Merchants at bay, kept the white majority in the area from getting killed or harassed.

My indecision must have shown to him, mask or not, because he told me to, "Sleep on it. I don't need an answer now."

"How long do I have?" I asked.

"The meeting is in two days, just past midnight," Krieg said. "I'll send someone tomorrow for your answer."

I nodded. Some time was better than no time at least. Rune and Torpedo returned.

"It's done Krieg," Rune said.

"We shall take our leave then," Krieg answered. "It was a pleasure speaking as always, fraulein."

"What false words did they offer you?" Torpedo asked as the two Empire capes walked out of earshot. Just in case, I kept up a soundproof barrier so they wouldn't hear him. We didn't need to alienate them, not yet. Not while they were useful.

"An invitation to talk," I said. "A meeting among villains." But by going, wouldn't that make me one of them?

"An ambush?"

I shook my head. "If they wanted to end me, they wouldn't need to bother. No, they want information on what the Merchants have been up to."

"Are you going?" he asked.

"I don't know yet." The PRT wouldn't think well of me if they found out.

He nodded. "I will pray for you."

"Thanks." The thought was nice, if nothing else.

Then Torpedo knelt on the spot. I didn't think he meant now. "Our Father in heaven," Torpedo began, "Scion be your name..."

Scion? What the hell?

 _-Resonance-_

If you asked me a week ago what powerset was the best, I would've answered the Alexandria package. Now? It was unquestionably healing.

Panacea's touch could reverse any injury we sustained in a fight, but the Merchants didn't have that luxury. They had to do things the old fashioned way, with rest and time. Without the capes, their unpowered members didn't dare try their luck against us, which is why today went as quietly as it did. Our scavengers had been quick to pick up on the change in dynamics, going much further in their search for supplies than they normally did.

The Merchants would return soon enough, of course. It wouldn't do to get complacent, but this lull was a welcome pause to the violence. Just in case, though, Torpedo and I had split up so one of us could reach any of the widely spread scavengers in case of trouble.

Someone stepped into my range and I knew who it was in an instant. There was only one cape in Brockton Bay that carried a halberd. Armsmaster moved towards me as if he knew where I was. He probably did. For a tinker like him, it'd be easy to make something that did.

There was definitely something lost in using my vibrations to sense, as opposed to actually seeing it.

Armsmaster really did look like a superhero, in a way that most people couldn't. The average cape just looked like someone dressed up for Halloween, but he actually made you feel more confident just by being there. So if I stood up a bit straighter, who could blame me?

"Resonance," he called out, "it's good to finally meet you." His sharply angled v-shaped visor didn't hide the lower half of his face, or his smile. It was a really nice smile, dashing enough to earn a date from some women on its merits. "Are you okay?"

I blinked a few times, breaking my stare. "Erm, yeah," I mumbled.

"Was there any trouble today?"

"No, no trouble. Not from the Merchants anyway," I said, my voice steadying now, thankfully.

"But from someone else," he deduced.

Oh, shit. I hadn't meant to let the thing with the Empire slip. This is bad Taylor, very bad.

"No, it's nothing."

Armsmaster frowned. "I have a lie detector in my helmet, you know.

...Damn it.

"You seem distressed. Do you...want to talk?"

No point in lying now. "I've been taking food from the E88," I confessed. "I didn't join up with them though!"

"Because your camp has a white majority?" he asked. I nodded. "We suspected as much. It seems to be standard operating procedure for the Empire. With the severe lack of supplies coming from the government, it's an excellent opportunity for them to generate goodwill."

I was relieved, but I also felt a lot less special now. "Krieg mentioned something about a villain meeting today. He invited me to go, probably to share what I know about the Merchants. All the big gangs are going to be in attendance apparently."

"Such things are rare, but not unheard of," Armsmaster said, stroking his chin.

"Would you go if you were me?" I found myself asking before my brain could process it. What kind of question was that? Of course I shouldn't!

"I'd consider it," he said. "There's little harm in telling the other gangs about the Merchants, but it would be a good way to find out what the gangs have been up to. I can't ask you to do that though."

"Why? Is it that dangerous?" I asked.

"While the majority of their capes will be there in all likelihood, no. But you are not a member of the Protectorate," he said. "I wouldn't risk a Ward on such a mission."

"But I'm an independent."

"I must repeat; I can't ask you to do that."

He couldn't order me to, but I could go on my own initiative. Or better yet… "With all the gang capes and their leaders there, it would be a perfect target for Eidolon," I said. A single surgical strike to cut out the cancer that plagued Brockton Bay.

"That's impossible," Armsmaster said.

"But you'd have Eidolon! With the Protectorate and the Wards to back him up-"

"We wouldn't be authorized to use lethal force," he said. "Even with surprise, such a fight will result in inevitable fatalities. The Wards would never be allowed to help if there was reasonable concern for their lives."

And without the Wards, they'd lose a third of their manpower. "You'd still have Eidolon."

"Eidolon is the strongest cape in the Americas, but he isn't omnipotent," Armsmaster said. "The gangs have more than fifty capes between them. Those are difficult numbers to overcome, never mind Lung."

My heart sank. Lung would just keep escalating in a fight. The city survived one Endbringer attack, but it wouldn't survive Lung right now.

"And even if we somehow won," he continued, "we wouldn't be able to catch all of the villains. Those we don't catch will escalate matters, shattering the tenuous peace we have. Even the Triumvirate's support couldn't save Brockton Bay from condemnation."

I bowed my head, glancing at the ground's patterns. "I understand."

Armsmaster didn't move for a while. "It's an ambitious idea," he finally said, "and that, in itself, isn't a bad thing. It just has to be tempered with wisdom."

I kept quiet.

"We could use a cape with your mindset in the Wards, to be honest," Armsmaster said. "It's something for you to consider when this is all over."


	13. Ruin-11: A Leap of Faith

**Chapter 11: A Leap of Faith**

"So...what are your powers exactly?" I asked Torpedo as we waited on the edge of the Undersiders's turf for Krieg's messenger.

"Scion's gift transforms me into a human projectile," he said.

"So you've said before. What I meant was what the specifics and limitations of your powers are," I said.

He frowned. "It's not that I don't trust you, but..." But he didn't trust me.

"If we're going to be teammates, we need to know what the other can and can't do," I said.

"In my faith, Scion's gift is a very personal matter, Resonance. We do not share its details lightly."

With the way he talked you'd think this was about marriage or something. New plan then. "Your 'vision' said your place is here, right? That your calling is to help us?"

"As best as I can interpret Scion's message, yes," Torpedo said. "I'm but an initiate in dream decryption right now."

"Well, if you accept that you're here to help me, wouldn't you agree that you have to do your best?" I asked.

He nodded. "As in all things Scion commands, only our greatest efforts are sufficient."

"And part of that means synergizing our powers. Who knows? We might be able to do together what we couldn't alone," I said.

"The church _is_ greater than the sum of its parts," he said.

"And if Scion placed you here, that must mean this is what he wants." A flicker of doubt crossed his face. Not that I could blame him. Sharing the nitty-gritty of your powers to just anyone wasn't a good idea and despite our mutual dislike of the Merchants, we were still strangers. In a perfect world, we'd have the time to train together and build up a sense of camaraderie...but I didn't know if we had the time, especially when when we needed to be at our best for the next attack. "I'll start."

When you broke it down, my vibrokinesis had three main applications: sensing, shockwaves, shields. The first was an extension of my senses beyond human means. The second was my weapon, a shaped wave of vibrations that would send normal men flying. The third was my vibration barriers that weakened the blow of any hit.

There was also the trump aspect that, best I could tell, allowed me to copy the powers of a nearby cape with a vibrokinetic flavor. Generally, it just expanded the utility of my powers, but Panacea's had shifted my Manton Limit. It was powerful - strong enough to actually hurt Doser when nothing else had even fazed the cape - but very niche. In a normal fight it wouldn't be my first option.

"...and that's what I can do. I haven't spent that much time experimenting though," I confessed.

"That's plenty more detailed than I can manage with my own," Torpedo said, then he fell into a contemplative silence.

He didn't seem like the type to sell me out, but if he did, I'd be _really_ screwed. I was already outmatched by the gangs on my own; info on my powers would be the final nail in the coffin.

"You've taken a leap of faith, Resonance," he said in a solemn tone. "Reciprocating is the least I can do."

 _It worked!_

"As I've said before, Scion's gift turns me into a human projectile, propelling me in a straight line of my choosing," he said. "I seem to be unstoppable and invincible while in that state, at least, I've yet to encounter something that could stop me. But there's a catch to it."

"The sound you make, the 'explosions', right?"

"There's another," Torpedo said. "The invulnerability Scion grants me is temporary and must be paid back. I can make myself go faster and hit harder, but it takes longer before I can use my powers again afterwards."

I knew it sounded too good to be true. "How long does it last?"

He shrugged. "A few seconds."

"And the recharge time?"

"A few more seconds at least. Minutes usually."

"That could be useful. It's almost like teleportation." And really, what practical difference did a few seconds make when travelling long distances?

"I can't use it to travel very far, not without inflicting massive damage," he said. "If I move at the street level, I hit lots of obstacles."

"And through the sky?" I asked.

He winced. "I'd have to land with my powers and that would leave a crater. It's...not a subtle gift. That's how the Merchants were able to keep finding me a few days ago."

"They were hunting you," I realized. "All those explosions, you were fighting them off."

"At first, I did. But mostly I was running."

"Why? With your powers-"

"Once my power is expended, I am just a man, as painfully vulnerable as any man against a cape's retaliation," Torpedo said.

That was how the Merchants beat him. He could win a fight one-on-one, but not against a group. One of their tougher members, Doser or Trainwreck probably, would tank his first hit and the others would provide the follow up. If he tried to run, they had Squealer's vehicles to chase after him.

Yet another example of why solo capes didn't last long on their own. A team was simply superior, providing a safety blanket for the new cape in case something did go wrong, like an unforeseen limitation to their power coming up in the middle of a fight.

"It's a good thing we're working together now," I said. "I've got your back."

Torpedo smiled. "Likewise."

"I have an idea we can test out later to make your powers better suited for travelling. With my powers, it _should_ be possible to-"

 _Giant fucking dogs._

" _Undersiders_ ," I hissed, aiming both hands at the direction they were coming from. Shit! Was their stranger, Imp, here already? I had no way of knowing. She had managed to bypass my vibration sense somehow the last time. How much of our conversation did she hear?

Hell, no wonder Krieg was so cautious. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to get into the habit of it from now on...if I lived through this that is.

"Shouldn't we run?" Torpedo asked. "We can meet up with the emissary later."

"No point," I said. "They've got a way of tracking us." More than one actually. Bitch's dogs, Tattletale's thinker power possibly, Imp if she was already here… "And they're mounted."

"What?"

"On giant dogs."

" _What?_ "

"Vicious ones too."

He made a sign of the cross. "Scion preserve."

"You should go," I said. "They're here for me."

"Weren't you just giving me that whole 'we're a team' talk? No, we stick together," Torpedo said, standing firm.

I smiled.

The three dogs bounded up the streets and circled us, all five of the Undersiders thankfully mounted. That meant our intricate conversation on the subtleties of our powers were a secret, for now. Or at least Torpedo's was. Tattletale claimed she already knew mine, but I had no way of knowing how true that was.

"Resonance, so good to see you again," Tattletale said. Her gaze shifted towards my teammate. "And I see Torpedo's with you."

"This is the Missile guy we were looking for?" Regent asked. "His costume is even worse than hers! And she has bloodstains on her mask."

I did? Oh, I did. "Well sorry it isn't to your liking, Your Majesty. Looking pretty for the camera isn't high up on our list of things to do," I said.

Imp chortled not unlike a witch. "She's got you there Regent!"

"Pfft. I spend hours to look this good for you ladies and nothing but insults in return. No appreciation for the finer things in life these days," Regent stage-whispered.

"So Resonance, given our offer any thoughts?" Grue interjected. "We won't wait forever you know."

"My answer hasn't changed," I said.

He shared a look with Tattletale.

"I'm surprised your camp's supplies have lasted this long," Tattletale said. "Oh, you're getting more; from the Empire?"

I crossed my arms.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't answer. Like I need you to anyways." She stared at me for a while longer. "You know siding with the Empire is going to bite you in the ass sooner or later right?"

"Who said I'm siding with them?" I asked.

"Don't be naive. When has the truth ever mattered more than public perception? Siding with Neo Nazis can't be good for your image."

"What does it matter? You're villains one and the same," I said.

"Hey!" Imp said. "Don't lump us in with the Nazis. We're not _that_ racist."

"Yeah," Regent agreed, pinching a bit of air with his thumb and index. "We're only a little racist and only occasionally."

Bitch yawned.

"At least they aren't making me take orders from Kaiser," I said.

"Not yet," Tattletale said.

"If it happens," I began, and like hell that was ever happening, "at least I'll know _who_ I'm taking orders from. More than I can say for you guys."

"It's not like we wouldn't tell you who we were working for if you joined," Grue said, "but I get where you're coming from. Better the devil you know. Really though, we're trying to change for the better."

People have the remarkable ability of telling when a person's faking. And Grue wasn't. He really believed that and he made me want to believe that.

But he was wrong. They weren't trying to change, not really.

"Then you better take a good look at what you're doing," I said. "Because when the Nazis of all people have the higher moral ground over you, you can be sure you fucked up somewhere."

"What are you-"

"Please. Don't act like you guys weren't trying to pressure me to join up by starving out my people," I spat out. Grue flinched behind his mask, I could sense it. "That's just despicable. People starving, dying and you use it for your own gain? At least the Nazis had the decency to actually give us the food first before making any demands. How do you even sleep at night?"

Tattletale frowned, Imp went quiet and Grue stared at the ground.

"We done here?" Bitch asked as the silence stretched on.

Grue's eyes moved to Tattletale's, just for a split second, and I sensed her head move marginally to the left with my waves.

"No," he said and Bitch nodded.

Interesting. That was a sign of some sort for sure, but why didn't Tattletale just answer Bitch herself? Some bad blood there? Possible, but there weren't signs of a grudge other than Bitch not talking to her. Really, Bitch didn't talk to most of her teammates anyway. More likely that she was closest to Grue and would follow his lead.

"You say that now," Tattletale began, calm and unaffected by my words, "but will you think the same months from now? The Nazis might be tolerated for now, but that's all they'll ever be - tolerated. Soon, people will demonize you for ever accepting their aid."

"And if they do?"

Tattletale showed her immaculate teeth that may as well have been fangs. "Don't pretend the thought doesn't bother you, Resonance. I know you better than you know yourself."

"You don't know me," I spat out.

"Please. I'm a thinker whose business is knowing everything about anything. You're an open book to me." She took a step forward. "Shall I read you the book?"

I didn't get the chance to answer.

"White girl, teenager, middle class family that fell on hard times. Wow, you're practically the fucking posterchild of the E88. Problems at school, antisocial, not surprising with your attitude, and oh some betrayal too!" She winked at me. "So much for a best friend huh?"

How did she-

"Didn't even get along with your parents that much, your dad especially. It's better now, but how long 'til your deal with the devil ruins everything?" she asked. "How long before you stop being seen as a hero?"

"Being a hero isn't about what people think. It's about what you do," I said.

She snorted. "Like you really believe that. Don't act like you're on some moral high ground, Resonance. Deep down, you're just a lonely little girl that wants to be _liked_."

"That's not-"

"But you can't have that, can you?" she continued without pause. "You're too awkward to have any real friends. Getting your powers must've been the greatest thing in your life and if that isn't messed up. You know those are supposed to be our worst days right?" She tilted her head to the side. "So too weird to have friends, you figured becoming a hero would get people to like you. Don't kid yourself Resonance. You're not in this because of morals or justice or any of that idealistic crap. You're here to be popular, be like those girls that always bullied you, belittled you, broke you."

She took another step forward. "So what if they demonize you, you ask? Why, you lose everything. You stop being liked, you stop being a hero, you stop having any purpose in your pathetic life. How long before the PRT throws you under the bus then?"

"They wouldn't do that," I said. "They already know about-"

"Know about it? Sure. Tolerate it? Again, fine. But publicly acknowledge that the Empire did something _good_? Don't be naive. If they're feeling generous, maybe they'll just watch quietly as the public, your people, even your dad, lynches you." She tilted her head to the side. "I wouldn't bet on it though."

She was lying.

"So maybe I'm lying," Tattletale continued, as if reading my mind. Her thinker bullshit probably told her what I was thinking, some of it at least. "But history doesn't, and it hasn't been kind on the Nazis. Remember the Nuremberg trials? I sure do."

"You're just trying to get me to join up."

"Don't join then, see if I care," she said, taking a final step forward, bringing her within range of my clenched fists. "But I want you to remember, at your lowest point and at your darkest hour, when the mobs come for you that _I told you so_."

I wanted to punch her _so_ much, but I couldn't. We were outmatched here, so I let her walk away with the Undersiders. Next time, she wouldn't be so lucky.

"Well, wasn't that something."

"Yeah," I answered.

"Who are you talking to?" Torpedo asked.

Wait a minute, the first voice was a woman's. And there was nobody besides me that my waves were picking up on. It was like there wasn't anything physically there.

I could see the cape though, dressed in her blues and silvers with a cowl casting an imperviable shadow over her face. Only the faint outline of one was visible.

"Her," I said, gesturing.

Torpedo's eyes glanced over the area I was pointing too. "There's no one there."

"Oh, don't bother. He can't interact with me," she said. "The name's Fraus by the way. Krieg sent me."

Another stranger who could bypass my vibration sense entirely?

"Have you been watching this whole time?" I asked.

"Only towards the end," Fraus said. "Wish I'd been here earlier now. Arguments are so thoroughly entertaining."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

She shrugged. "One has to make do when without electricity. So, your answer?"

"I'll be there," I said, a bit of bitterness tinting my tone. Was Tattletale right about me? About this?

"Toodles!" And Fraus vanished, no trace in her wake.

"Let's go," I said.

"What about the meeting?" Torpedo asked. "And who were you talking to just now?"

"The meeting's over."

Torpedo paused. "Wait, was the emissary here just now? Resonance, what's going on? And where are we going?"

"We have practice," I said, "but first, I have to try something out."

"What exactly?"

"I'm going to jump off a building," I said.

He frowned at me. "Scion preserve, Resonance! Suicide is not the answer. That would be letting that fiend Tattletale win."

"I'm not committing suicide," I said. "Not really. Call it a leap of faith."

"Scion preserve," he muttered. "Even the Ardent don't throw themselves off buildings to show their faith."

"They don't have vibration powers to save them," I said.


	14. Ruin-Interlude: My Empire (Kaiser)

**Interlude: My Empire (Kaiser)**

Kaiser walked into Hookwolf's home with Krieg at his back, his imperious gaze slow and sweeping.

Capes stood in the arena as points on a triangle, each pawn facing the other two. Shaped fire was born from the first, flickering red extending from his hands like claws. The second played with her pebbles, juggling some into the air as if a court jester. And the third danced and didn't dance, his still body framed by the wild paths and twirls his small slivers of water took.

"Kaiser! Krieg." Hookwolf greeted, approaching first. This was his lieutenant's home, but he was the master still. Hookwolf's eyes didn't quite meet his own.

"Hookwolf," Kaiser said, a wry smile on his lips, "keeping the men in shape I see."

"They need all the training they can get if they want to hold Stormtiger's turf. Won't last a week as they are when the fighting picks up otherwise."

Krieg nodded. "Vigilance is always a wise course of action."

Kaiser's eyes shifted back to the pit, watching the the girl's weight shift back as she caught a falling stone before pitching it in a single sharp motion.

"Your aim sucks, Hail," the third said, moving his head marginally to the side, just so that the stone sailed past him and exploded exploded into icy shards upon hitting a wall. A tendril of water coalesced around his arm in an instant and closed the gap between them in the next. "Just like your name!"

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it first," Hail said, jumping back as the water whip struck the ground she had stood on, punching a deep, narrow hole through the ground. "Hail Hitter is a glorious name!"

That was an... _unorthodox_ pseudonym. Krieg raised a brow at Hookwolf.

"They can call themselves whatever the hell they want as long as they get the job done," Hookwolf grunted, crossing his arms.

The clawed cape charged, swiping at the third only to hit empty air. "You're one to talk about names, Lakesnake." He grinned. "God, I can't even take you seriously. How did you last so long in the pits, pet?"

"Whatever you say, ashock," Lakesnake said, edging closer still towards Hail.

The fire turned blue, coating the entirety of his fists now. "It's Ash Hawk."

Kaiser tilted his iron crowned-head slightly towards his chief brawler.

"Those two are...were Stormtiger's boys," Hookwolf said. "Chose to follow his style." Naming themselves in homage to their fallen commander, that was something Hookwolf would respect, even if they sounded stupid.

"And the girl?" Krieg asked.

"Well..."

"Chill guys," Hail said, hurling another stone at Lakesnake. "No need to get all warmed up."

"...she likes her puns too much," Hookwolf finished.

"That is just patently ridiculous," Krieg said. "She should change it. All of them should."

"Bah! What does it matter? They're willing to fight!"

"Reputation, Herr Hookwolf. Our enemies will not respect us with names like those among our number."

Kaiser raised a clenched hand, quelling their quibbling. He revelled, not in the silence itself, but in the power behind such a simple gesture. Krieg always was one of the old guard; always too worried about face, about the image of the Empire, about their "principles". Hookwolf worried too little.

He gripped the quiet for a moment longer still, and they waited for their kaiser to speak first.

Lakesnake's water batted a rock away, only to have half of it ice-over on contact. It failed to slow his assault though. The fluid half of his liquid tendril twisted and coiled, flinging the frozen edge like a knight would a flail.

"Their names could be better," Kaiser said, "but reputation is earned, _respect_ is earned, through the trials. They will prove themselves in battle first and if they are worthy, our enemies will fear them."

"And if they aren't?" Krieg asked.

"My Empire is not for the weak."

Lakesnake's attacks now seemed erratic at a glance, thrashing this way and that, but Kaiser saw the underlying pattern. Each strike was calculated, pushing the girl closer towards the corner where she could be controlled.

"Do you think they will be ready in time?" Krieg asked. "The Protectorate are formidable foes even without Eidolon."

"None of 'em will ever be Stormtiger's equal," Hookwolf said. "But together, maybe they'll have a chance, numbers and all that. If nothing else, they can keep the children busy."

Krieg frowned. "The Wards are dangerous in their versatility."

Hookwolf snorted.

This had to be curbed. "Underestimating our enemies is a fatal flaw," Kaiser said. "A child with a gun can kill as easy as any."

"Yes sir," Hookwolf said, tone turning somber.

Lakesnake lashed out, landing a solid against Hail's sternum with the solid blunt end of his water whip. She collapsed against the wall, wheezing for air and grasping her chest in pain.

"Don't let the other guy box you in like that, Hail," Hookwolf said. "No space means the enemy can close in."

"Gah!" yelped Ash Hawk. Vapor blew into his eyes and face, and when it cleared a thread of water wrapped itself around his throat. Lakesnake had used his ice again, purposely throwing it against the fire to melt it quickly and the moment's distraction it bought allowed him to shackle his enemy.

"At least one of them can fight," Hookwolf grunted.

Useful. Kaiser took a closer look at the victor. There was potential there to be purified by time and tribulation.

"That one can handle more," Kaiser said.

"I'll have Cricket fight him," Hookwolf said.

"Kaiser, Krieg, Hookwolf" a feminine voice said from besides Krieg, though no footsteps were heard nor shadows seen. It could only be Fraus. "I have to say, that girl was quite something. The blood on her mask was a nice touch. Wore it like a natural."

"Her answer, Fraus?" Krieg asked.

"She'll be there," she said. "Did you know she's been talking with the Undersiders?"

 _Hedging her bets already? Smart girl._

"I've had suspicions, yes. Will they be a problem?" Krieg asked.

Fraus tilted her head to the side, her black hair didn't move with her though. Not surprising. There wasn't really anything there after all. "Not anymore. Thing were heating up between her and Tattletale, I think, when I got there."

"Go on," Kaiser said. Fraus's eyes lit up. How typical of the gossip. Still, details would be nice. It would be in the Empire's interest to see the two come to blows.

"I didn't hear much," she began, licking her lips, "buuuuuut it looked personal. Tattletale was really tearing into Resonance, a weird recruitment pitch if you ask me. I'm surprised she didn't get slugged."

"Not recruitment, a _failed_ recruitment," Krieg mused. "She turned them down and this Tattletale didn't take rejection well."

"Ooooh, maybe it was over a boy?" speculated Fraus wildly.

Kaiser rolled his eyes. "That will be all, Fraus."

Fraus shattered into a thousand thousand pixels, shimmering in the air and visible only to them.

"Hmph. That pet project of yours again, Krieg?" Hookwolf said. "The girl from the north?"

"Yes," Krieg answered. "You'd like the girl, I think. She can hold her ground quite well."

"Against Merchants," Hookwolf retorted.

"Against six capes," Krieg said.

"The PRT helped her. _New Wave_ helped her. She didn't do that on her own."

 _Maybe not, but persuasion is a power all on its own._

"She's new to her powers and she'll only grow stronger with time. I'm confident she can be turned to our point of view," Krieg said, glancing meaningfully at Kaiser.

Hookwolf crossed his arms. "I don't see why we need her anyway. What's one cape going to do to change things?" he continued.

"You'd be surprised, Herr Hookwolf. With her on our side, the Merchants and the Undersiders would be kept busy in the coming weeks. Crucial time while Purity's hitsquad deals with the ABB, leaving only Coil to be dealt with."

"That tinker can't do much," Hookwolf said.

"We don't know what he is," Krieg said. "That's what makes him dangerous."

"You overthink things, Krieg. He has tinkertech weapons. He's obviously a tinker, busy in his own little world downtown. He'll keep his head down 'til we come for him. The Merchants are drug peddlers and the Undersiders are insects."

"The Undersiders remain undefeated," Krieg retorted.

"Because they run!"

"And now they grow in number," Krieg said. "Already two new capes have joined them, recent triggers both. Resonance isn't the only one they've been courting."

The pitfighter frowned. "Why would anyone join them?"

"For the same reasons our people flock to us," Krieg said. "Sustenance and security. Somehow, they've been getting supplies into the city undetected and that requires money, plenty of it. They must be getting it from somewhere. Small time heists alone could not fund their efforts."

The aggressive recruitment, the unexplained wealth, someone was gearing up for a war and the Undersiders were the tip of the spear. "Not somewhere, someone." Kaiser said. "The Undersiders are being used as a proxy to raise an army inconspicuously."

Hookwolf snarled. "Untrained, inexperienced-"

"-capes," interrupted Krieg. "Enough for a war with the Empire. Faultline's crew is still in the city. The Travelers too."

"Then they've already been bought," Kaiser said. There was no business to be had in a post Endbringer city, ergo there was no reason for mercenaries to hang about.

"Who are we fighting?" Hookwolf asked, baring his teeth.

"This was subtle, planned," Kaiser said.

"It could be the Ambassadors or the Elite." Krieg tapped his chin.

"Or Coil."

 _-Resonance-_

"Ah Resonance! It's been far too long," Krieg said as the girl walked out of her camp by herself. "May I introduce my companion-"

"Kaiser," she cut him off, "I know who he is."

"Krieg, I want to speak to her alone." Krieg bobbed his head and backed away, out of hearing. "Well met, Resonance," Kaiser said, sharpened steel reshaping itself until his hand was could be shaken safely. He was not denied. "Is your friend not coming?"

"I had him keep watch. This parley doesn't extend to the Merchants. They're still a threat to my camp."

 _Cautious._ Even his Empire had not come out unabridged tonight. With the advantage of numbers, they could spare a few capes where the other gangs couldn't, not without appearing weak.

"Their days are dwindling," Kaiser said. _Whether by our hand or another's._ "You aren't lacking for supplies, I hope? If you need more, all you have to do is ask." Kaiser smiled.

She frowned. "We're fine."

"Of course, Resonance. Do keep it in mind for the future though."

Resonance held his gaze a tad too long. "I'll do that."

 _Liar._ Kaiser smiled wider. "Excellent. Shall we?" He led and she followed. Far too quietly for his liking. "Something on your mind?"

"You don't fit," Resonance said. "You don't seem like a Nazi."

"I prefer the term 'white supremacist'."

"Why's that?" Resonance asked.

"Marketing," Kaiser said. "A white supremacist upholds the inherent superiority of the American people. Nazis and Neonazis are anti-democratic fascists. _Very_ un-American."

"Riiight. And being a racist _appeals_ to you?"

Kaiser stopped. He could spout Plato or Strasser or Malthus verbatim, but that was not what she needed to hear. No, she was far too much like Purity for that. He recognized that _idealism_ in her.

Yet she wasn't all Purity either. A true idealist so diametrically opposed to the Empire would rather die than accept their help. No, Resonance's idealism was tempered by a certain pragmatism. This required a delicate touch.

"Racism, sexism, classism, so many _isms_ humans use to hate each other," Kaiser said. "Even civilized, man proves to be nothing but a slave of violence."

"What?"

Ah, surprise. What a beautiful sound. "All ideals are flawed, Resonance, if not in philosophy then in practice," he said.

He saw her eyes narrow, the bloodied and battered mask framing it in a fearsome light. Fraus was right. This was her element. "Then what do you believe in?"

"Power," he said.

"Power," she repeated.

"That's what it takes to affect real change," Kaiser said. "Policies and plans and ideas are all fine and dandy, but without _power_ they're just words on paper, aren't they? The strong rule, the weak follow. You're an example of that."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You've been part of this camp for what? Eight days? And I hear already you're seen as something of a leader here. Tell me that isn't because you're a cape?" Kaiser said.

She ignored the question. "What do you plan to do afterwards? After you have your power?"

Really, the question was _what could he offer her._ "The same as you, I imagine," he said. "A better city, a better Brockton."

"But your Empire made things worse," Resonance said scathingly. "Drug trafficking-"

"Demand begets supply, the first rule of Economics. Do you honestly believe if I put a stop to the drugs, people would cease their self-indulgent depravity?" Kaiser said.

"It would help."

"For a week, at best, before the ABB and the Merchants ramped up their output. Or, heavens forbid, yet _another_ gang, as if that's what the city needs. Nixon's war on drugs is an exercise in catastrophic failure, Resonance."

"So what? We just give up?" she asked.

Kaiser shook his head. "Not on our people. I have...subsidiaries that try to rehabilitate them." Owning a pharmaceutical was useful in more ways than one.

"And leave the minorities to fend for themselves?"

"A trap I dug for myself, admittedly. The greatest problem of heading an ideological movement is having to appear compliant with those ideas," he said. "My capes wouldn't stand it if I helped the other races, the Empire would fracture."

"You think yourself the lesser evil," she said.

"Aren't I?"

She didn't answer. "What about the murder, the extortions and the arson?"

"I don't ask you to excuse the failings of my subordinates, Resonance, but the crimes we stand accused of are far less onerous than the PRT makes it sound."

"Murder is murder. There's nothing complicated about it," she said.

"Reality is oft more nuanced than black or white. A man kills a criminal and we deem it murder. Hand him a badge and dress him in blue, call it justice," he said. "As for our extortion, well, is it really still that if the money's freely given?"

"And the arson?"

"Do you actually miss the ABB's brothels and dogfighting dens?" Kaiser asked. "If anything I improved their real estate value. I made Lung _richer_ , that ingrate."

She didn't speak.

"Brockton Bay stands on a precipice, Resonance. In a few short weeks, our good shepherd Eidolon will be leaving the house and scum like Lung and the Merchants will be out and about once more. Violence and chaos will follow," he said. "They're brutes who break, as if the city wasn't broken enough. What's needed here instead is business. The Empire, my Empire, can make that happen."

"Is this your idea of a job offer?" she said dryly.

Kaiser laughed. "Nothing so concrete. Merely an understanding between like minds. The Empire will continue to supply you and however many refugees you shelter, in exchange, you keep doing what you do best. Cleaning up the city, gang by gang, from north to south."

"Leaving you for last," she said.

"Geographical happenstance. It's not your fault the Empire is based in the extreme south."

 _Krieg was wrong. Resonance would never join my Empire, but an alliance based on circumstance, in the service of some higher cause..._

"We're here," Resonance said, her eyes flicking towards the dingy doors Hookwolf had pushed past several feet ahead. "I'd like to enter by myself if it's all the same to you."

 _Plausible deniability. Disassociation._ "Of course," he said. That suited him just fine. Keeping this talk a secret was the best for everyone involved.

Coil was already waiting inside Somer's Rock. To his right were the Travelers and to his left the Undersiders.

What bothered him most about the scene was their eerie quiet and solidary stares. They were clearly united, and it fit the idea that Coil really was behind the Undersiders ramping up.

Coil had held his ground with nothing but tinkertech armed mercenaries for years in one of America's most cape saturated cities. His losses were few and his victories many. That spoke of intelligence, cunning, caution.

If he really was behind things, why was he being so damn obvious right now?


	15. Ruin-12: Truce

**Chapter 12: Truce**

The place would've been considered nondescript before Behemoth. Now, it was hard _not_ to notice it when it was the only building in good shape on the street.

I watched Kaiser and the last of his lackeys walk through the doors of the bar. Krieg had talked about it on the way here, and naturally I was listening in while talking to Kaiser. 'Somer's Rock', apparently, was the base of operations for Faultline's Crew in Brockton and a designated truce grounds for occasions exactly like this.

It made me wonder how often these things happened if they had designated grounds prepared.

There were iron bars on the windows and the curtain was drawn, but that did nothing to stop my powers from peeking inside. I took my time too, waiting for my vibrations to give me a good look just in case this was an elaborate ambush. Paranoid of me, sure, but I'd gladly be that if it meant I lived through the night. The capes inside were clustered and seated, which made an ambush unlikely.

I watched them for a minute longer before heading in, soaking in the details.

There was a round table in the center of the room where Kaiser, Grue and three others sat. The groups they represented, or so I assumed, sat in tables behind them, with the Empire physically occupying the half of the building closer to the exit. Armsmaster wasn't exaggerating about the villain numbers either. Kaiser had brought some twenty capes with him. The other gangs put together had about the same.

Clockwise from Kaiser's seat - well, it was really more of a steel throne after he had used his powers on it - was Grue, a middle-aged man in a sleek, skintight bodysuit, a woman in black body armor emblazoned with red suns and Faultline.

Lung and the ABB were nowhere to be seen. So much for the Asian stereotype of punctuality.

Now where to position myself. I was here representing myself, so logically I should have a seat at the center table. I also didn't want to seem close to the Empire - that was why I let them go in first after all. Sitting next to Kaiser would be self-defeating in that regard. And if I could help it, I'd rather not sit next to the Undersiders.

Between Faultline and Sun Girl it was.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Finally, we ca-who are you supposed to be?" Faultline asked.

"Resonance," I said without missing a beat, before Kaiser could speak for me. They'd never respect me if I let him. No, I had to fight my own battles. I walked up to her. "Kaiser invited me."

"Then you can go sit with Kaiser's crew," Faultline said, purposefully placing her foot on the chair between her and Sun Girl.

"I represent myself," I said. "I'm not part of his Empire."

Sun Girl crossed her arms. "And what makes you entitled to a spot here?"

"You ever fought the Merchants?" I asked her.

She shook her head.

"I have," I said, touching the bloodstains on my mask. "Twice we fought and twice I won. What have _you_ done to earn a spot on this table?"

"Sundancer and the Travelers holds territory," Grue said.

My eyes drifted past "Sundancer" and towards the two capes behind her. Two teens around Sun Girl's age. The girl was wheelchair bound and fairly average. The boy had a square mask and bulky armor, reminiscent of a football player's. He had the build to pull it off too.

"They're here on Coil's invitation," Faultline said, moving her foot back. Coil must be the middle-aged man's name. "You know the rules?"

I nodded and sat down. "No fighting, no powers, no baiting, or you get put down hard." Krieg's words, not mine.

"I think we can get started," Coil said. "It doesn't look like the ABB will be coming."

Kaiser leaned into his throne. "No great loss. Proceed," he said, as if addressing one of his underlings.

Coil remained stoic, to his credit. "I trust you've all heard by now the government's intentions to rebuild the city." I hadn't actually, but nodded along with the rest of them. "The sooner it gets done, the sooner business can resume for all of us. Nothing will kill the reconstruction faster than a gang war, and I'm sure nobody wants to see that happen?"

"You want a truce," Kaiser said, tilting his head to the side, eyes glinting.

"It's what's best for everyone. A truce not just among those here, but between us and the law. We take care of the troublemakers and the chaotic elements first and foremost. The last thing we want is another member of the Protectorate coming in after Eidolon leaves. There would be no violence, no grabs for territory, no thefts or insults among us."

My brows furrowed. "Would the PRT accept that?"

Coil smiled. "Of course. We are, after all, prolonging Eidolon's peace."

A truce meant I could focus exclusively on the Merchants without worrying about the Undersiders or some other gang blindsiding me. "How would it be enforced?" I asked.

"With force," Coil said. "Should anyone break the peace, we turn on them collectively in retaliation."

Simple, effective. I could get behind that.

"This was meeting was supposed to be about the Merchants. Do try to keep on topic, Coil. After all, you did set it." Kaiser said.

"The Merchants are but a symptom of the situation. This truce will prevent things from getting worse," Coil said.

"My crew doesn't get involved in these turf wars of yours unless we get hired," Faultline said. "Your cash is as good as the Merchants' as far as I'm concerned."

Coil nodded. "Then perhaps we can come to an alternative arrangement afterwards?"

"As long as the money's good, sure."

"Question: when you say grabbing territory, you mean against each other right?" Grue asked. "The Merchants and like are free game?"

Even now they were only thinking of expanding their grip on the city.

"If they can't be reasoned with, yes," Coil said. "Violence shouldn't be our first resort is all."

"I think that's a good policy to have. The Undersiders are in."

Sundancer tapped her fingers rhythmically against the table. "Don't get me wrong, I like the idea behind it. God knows we've got enough problems to deal with being in the center of the city, but your self-enforcement isn't all that practical for us."

"How do you mean?" Coil asked.

"Our territory's to your west and the Undersiders' south," Sundancer said, looking pointedly at Coil. "If we get _doublecrossed_ while dealing with the ABB _by_ one of _you_ , who's going to bother coming to help us out when everyone here has something else to deal with?"

"It's a truce, not an excuse for complacency," Kaiser said. "You have no one to blame but yourself if you're caught unaware."

"You'll just have to have faith," Coil said. "Your choices are to accept the truce, or be excluded."

Sundancer frowned but nodded. "Fine. We're in."

Coil turned to me. "Resonance?"

"I'm all for keeping the peace," I said.

"Kaiser?"

Kaiser bridged his fingers and seemed to consider the idea, leaving the room in nervous silence. The Empire, I realized, was the key to keeping things together. Alone, none of the smaller gangs could really cause enough damage, but the Empire could. That was exactly why Coil had asked Kaiser last. Once all the smaller groups had banded together, the Empire would have to accept or look like the aggressor here.

"That's acceptable," Kaiser finally said. "Now if we could get to the main point?"

"The Merchants, yes it's obvious something has to be done about them," Coil said. "They've been attacking civilians indiscriminately. Most of the people in their area have cleared out or joined them."

"They've claimed everything north of a line from the base of Captain's Hill to the Docks," Grue said.

My eyes widened. That was a lot of real estate.

"It would be up to the Boardwalk if Resonance hadn't stopped them," Kaiser pointed out.

"You say you've fought them," Coil said. "Can you tell us anything about their roster?"

Armsmaster had said there was no harm in doing so, so I did. Much as I disliked the Undersiders and the other gangs, I had to admit at least they were trying to help (like the Empire)...or at least staying out of the way. They could be taken care of later.

"We've seen a cape by Doser's description before," Grue said after I finished telling them what I knew. "We thought he was Lung, but something seemed off about him."

"Dealing with them should be easy," Kaiser said. "As soon as we're clear of Eidolon, we can sweep them aside."

"Why not just deal with them now?" I asked, eyes arcing across the table. "I mean, if the PRT knows we're on their side, why wait?"

"Because it will look like a gang war," Coil said. "And gang wars get screen time on the nine 'o'clock news. The PRT has to look in control of the situation."

"Besides that, they're Merchants. Not much of a threat," Kaiser said. Not much of a threat my ass! I almost _died_ because of them. "I'm more concerned with what happens to their territory after my Empire has beaten them into submission."

Grue leaned forward. "Someone will need to keep order there. The Undersiders are close by, we could keep the peace in the interim."

Sundancer scoffed. "Permanently you mean. Occupation is 4/5ths of winning a land dispute."

"Leave it unoccupied," Kaiser said. "We're here to deal with the scum, not help you with a power grab."

"What would you suggest? Let the place fall to anarchy?" Grue said.

"We hand it to the PRT as a show of goodwill from us," Coil said. "And we stretch out the heroes with more places to patrol, keep them out of the way while we clean up the streets."

"And the Merchants? Do we hand them over to the Protectorate too?" Sundancer asked, a hint of sarcasm in her lilt.

"No, obviously not," Coil said. "They have no jails to hold them with or the manpower to keep them locked up."

Kaiser added, "None that they couldn't escape from easily, especially with that cape of theirs, Scrapyard. We need a more permanent solution for them. Exile."

"Or if they won't listen to reason, make them disappear," Coil said. Was he seriously suggesting-

"Kill them you mean," Sundancer said.

"Yes. It simplifies things," Coil said.

My fists clenched "We can't just kill because because it's convenient!" I shouted. _Even if they're scum._

Coil raised a brow at me, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "You'll find that we can."

"I don't know, seems a bit drastic," Sundancer said, looking just as uncomfortable with the idea as I was feeling. "They're just Merchants after all."

"They've gotten a free pass for far too long," Kaiser said. "If you're feeling squeamish about it, I suggest you turn your eyes aside when I have them hunted down."

"I have to agree," Grue said. "The Undersiders don't kill unless we have to. When we catch the Merchants, we'll be happy to turn them in or throw them out, but-"

"But you can't bring yourself to do what must be done," Kaiser interrupted.

After my one-on-one with Kaiser, I could see why people followed him. He was confident, intelligent and more than a little charming. Here, I was reminded of his other side, the killer who had risen to the top of one of America's largest gangs. He was ruthless when he needed to be.

That combination made him more dangerous than any villain ought to be. And that scared me.

"If nothing else, can we at least agree that they have to be dealt with?" Coil asked. "Each can deal with them as they see fit."

There were nods all around.

"That concludes our business then," Coil said.

As I was making to leave the premises, I sensed footsteps approaching me rapidly. Grue. Joy. At least the bitch wasn't with him.

"What do you want?" I asked as he opened his mouth to speak, pointedly not looking at him. A barrier went up around us.

"Resonance, I know that things got a little tense the last time we met-" I snorted. "-and for that I'd like to apologize on behalf of the Undersiders," he said. " _Especially_ Tattletale. She went too far."

I considered it. "Is this another recruitment attempt?"

"No," he said. "No more of that from us. You don't want to join up, I get it. Our reputation isn't stellar."

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked.

"We didn't leave on good terms last time," he said, "and I don't want that. We don't want to be your enemy."

"Do I look stupid enough to pick a fight with a team that outnumbers me?" I asked.

"I didn't mean it like that." He sighed. "Can't we put what happened behind us? There's no reason we can't work together even if you don't join up. The Merchants border our territory too."

I won't deny that his words made sense, but I really, _really_ hated Tattletale. I didn't hate her more than saving lives though. "If she talks to me again, I won't be held responsible for what happens next."

"That's fair," he said, holding out a hand.

Grue had a firm grip.


	16. Ruin-13: Killed, kiddo

**Chapter 13: Killed, kiddo**

The MRE cinnamon scone was halfway to my mouth when I sensed someone walking up to the door. It slammed open just as I put my mask over my face. "Danny?"

"Take the mask off," he said, shutting the door behind him with excessive force. He locked it with a 'click'.

My brows furrowed, but I did as he said, taking care to put up a sound barrier around us. "What's this about, Dad?"

"What's this about?" He started pacing across the room, his fists clenched. "What's this _about_? Do you really have to ask, Taylor?"

I frowned.

"Where did you go last night?"

Oh. He knew about that. "I had a meeting," I said.

"With the Empire?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

I nodded. "They asked me to."

"And you didn't find that suspicious?"

"Of course I did, but what was I supposed to do?" I asked. "They give us our _food_ , Dad."

"Food doesn't mean they own you. Food doesn't mean you should throw your life away!"

"If I said no, they'd cut us off," I said.

"Then we'd just find our own food," Dad said.

I snorted. "Because we've been doing so well these past few days. We wouldn't even have enough to feed a quarter of the camp without the Empire's help."

He stopped in front of me. "And you couldn't bring that new cape with you? For backup?"

"Torpedo? Well someone had to look after the camp while I was gone," I said.

"You should've taken him with you anyway. What if it had been a trap?!"

"But it wasn't," I pointed out.

"But what if it _was_ ," he said emphatically.

Didn't he get it? Everything turned out fine. Why was he stressing about this? "I took reasonable precautions!" I said. "Give me some credit."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Saying no would've been reasonable. Not going without anyone looking out for you would've been _reasonable._ Going out - by yourself - to meet the Empire - _at night_ isn't _reasonable_!"

"Armsmaster said it would be fine!"

"Armsmaster?" he repeated. " _He_ put you up to this?"

"What? No, it wasn't his fault. I just...consulted with him, to be safe," I said.

"You asked him, and you didn't bother asking me before going? Dad asked, looking a bit hurt. "I'm your father."

"I don't have to ask your permission for every little thing I do."

"This wasn't a little thing, _Taylor_!"

"It's in the past now. I got out fine," I said, putting my mask back on. "It's _not_ an issue, Dad. I'm going now."

"This talk isn't over!" he said.

"We can talk when I get back," I said. "I have some medicine to deliver for Panacea." It was only right that we honored her request after she'd done us a favor stopping by, then helping me defend the camp from the Merchants. Plus, Dad needed some time to cool down. I couldn't talk to him when he was like this.

"You can't keep trying to throw yourself into danger like this!" he shouted as I walked out the door. The last words he said to me were, "You're going to get yourself killed, kiddo."

I grabbed a bag of medicine we didn't have much use for from the infirmary. Dad tried to follow me of course. Parents always tried, but not all kids could get away by jumping out of a three story building unscathed.

Who needs parkour when you have powers?

I felt a bit safer walking through the Undersiders' turf to get to Brockton Bay General after the truce and talking with Grue last night. They weren't likely to ambush me for a third time. Still, no point tempting fate so I kept my distance from what I assumed was their camp based on the people congregating there.

The brief glimpses my vibrations provided showed their people lining up for food and water, which was being distributed from a large armored truck. The men armed with semiautomatics from before were no longer on the streets, aside from one or two patrolling the perimeter. Instead, they were keeping watch over the lines and keeping order, not that it was necessary. The civilians looked well behaved to me.

I paused as I came in sight of the hospital. Brockton Bay General was different. Most noticeably was the city flag swaying before the entrance. The walls were cleaner and the windows clearer. The changes weren't all aesthetic either. A second set of steel doors were installed behind the glass ones. Structurally, there were more supports in place that hadn't been there the last time I was here. Everything just looked sturdier, _safer_. I was willing to bet the entire building was bulletproof now.

"What happened here?" I asked George as I walked up to the reception desk. "How is this even possible?" All of these improvements would have taken months to do.

George grinned. "We can thank Eidolon for that."

"Eidolon did this?" I guess he could, technically. His power was every power after all.

"Yeah, did it all yesterday," he said. "He's finishing up today by putting up a helipad on the roof.

" _Eidolon's here_?" I asked, pinching myself. The logical part of my brain told me it wasn't that unlikely. We _were_ in the same city, but I never thought I'd actually get to see him up close.

"Yup," George said. "What's in the bag by the way? It's not often you see a cape with one."

I unslung the shoulder bag and handed it over to him. "This is some excess medicine from our camp. Thought it could be put to better use here. It's not much."

He took a quick peek at the contents and his eyes widened. "Wow! No, this is plenty." He looked me in the eye. "Thank you for this."

"I'm just doing what anybody would. Besides, Panacea was the one who put the idea in my head."

"Maybe so, but you're still the one bringing it here. You're a real hero, you know," he said. I flushed, something warm and tingly springing in my chest. "Excuse me, I better store these first."

A lone pair of hands clapped. I saw a cape, hood and blue-green suit that anyone anywhere would recognize instantly.

"You're him," I breathed out, an almost reverent quality to my words. " _Eidolon_." An idealized person, the ideal cape. The name fit him.

"I'm me," he agreed, voice quiet and calm, but brimming with potency. "You must be Resonance."

My jaw dropped. Could you blame me? "You know who I am?"

"Armsmaster may have mentioned you. I understand you attended a gathering last night?"

My head nodded dumbly, almost of its own volition.

"You're not in any trouble, but I'm wondering if you'd be willing to answer a few questions for the PRT?" he asked.

"What can I do to help you?" I blurted out. Oh. My. God. This was really happening.

"Walk with me," he said, gesturing for me to follow as we climbed the stairs. "How many groups were in attendance?"

"The Empire, Coil, the Travelers, the Undersiders and Faultline's Crew. The ABB was invited, but didn't show," I said.

"How many capes were in each gang, as best as you can recall?"

I reviewed my memories of last night, trying to remember the murky details. "The Undersiders had six capes. Coil had two others with him. Faultline's crew numbered...six or seven?"

Eidolon nodded. "Go on."

"The Empire fielded over a dozen, maybe a little under twenty-five capes. There were only three of the Travelers though," I said.

"Hm. Odd, the Travelers rarely split their their membership. No matter. What was the meeting about?" he asked.

"Coil wanted a truce between the gangs, and to get rid of the 'troublemakers and chaotic elements'," I quoted as we reached the rooftop. "He said it was bad for the recovery. There was also talk about getting rid of the Merchants, but we didn't come to an an agreement on how to deal with them. Coil and Kaiser wanted them dead. The rest of us weren't ready to go that far."

Eidolon reached out with his hand and flexed his fingers. "You may want to close your eyes," he suggested. I listened, but kept abreast with my powers. The place stretched and curled, space and matter warping around us in a dizzying show.

"Sir-"

He laughed. "Call me Eidolon, please. Sir makes me sound so old."

"Eidolon-" and God, that felt weird, addressing him like he was an _equal_ , "-what exactly are you doing here?"

"And isn't that a multifaceted question," he said. "An official would say I'm here because of orders. A pastor would rather call this a humanitarian venture. To a journalist, I'm fixing the city; to a cynic, I'm making it worse. What I'm doing here depends on who you ask, Resonance."

"What would the doctors say?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment. "They'd say I'm saving a thousand lives tomorrow, for a hundred lives today."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Your camp is one of those the Merchants has been troubling, yes?"

"Yeah."

"When did the gangs at the truce meeting say they'd take care of them?" he asked.

"When you left," I said, a bit guiltily. It almost sounded like he should leave. "They're all scared of moving a toe over the line while you're still here."

"Unsurprising," Eidolon said. "They know I will tolerate them as long as there are better ways I can serve this city."

"Better ways than cleaning up the gangs?" I asked. "I don't mean to sound critical, but wouldn't that solve a lot of things?"

He dropped his arm. "Less than you think. In the short term, yes, it would make things better, but how long after I leave before others set up in the city? What if, in eradicating one evil, I attract greater evils?"

I...hadn't thought of that.

"No, such a gambit does not appeal to me. I prefer concrete gains," he said. "Purging the water supply of radiation, shoring up or replacing critical infrastructure the people need or even-" he tapped his foot against the newly christened helipad, "creating strong points from which the government can project its authority."

"Why would that last one be important?" I asked. It didn't seem all that useful for the people.

"Do you know what happens when society looks to gangs for safety?" I shook my head. "Feudalism, or to put it simply, the rule of the strong. Why should the powerless ever choose to live like that when better options exist for them? A year of that and would anyone be left to call Brockton Bay a city?"

His words made an awful lot of sense. I doubted the average joe would care much for a place where you had to rely on villains for protection. The very idea of looking to rule breakers to enforce rules was contradictory. A rare few, like Dad, might stay out of love. Others because of economic and financial limitations. Everyone else would hightail it out of here.

What struck me more about what he said was how much he seemed to _care_ not only for Brockton Bay's inhabitants, but for the city as a collective whole. He wasn't from here, as far as I knew. In fact, he hadn't even been here before Behemoth and there certainly wasn't anything beautiful or ethereal worth preserving in this shithole.

Yet, he cared anyway. Was that what being a hero meant to Eidolon?

On a completely unrelated note, I wonder if he's sign my mask? You know, for reasons.

"How long are you here for?" I asked.

He sighed. "Only a few days more, unfortunately. It's much shorter than I wanted, but what can you do?" He took on a lighter tone and said, "Even I have to listen to my boss."

I laughed and that seemed to please him.

"I am needed elsewhere now," he said, extending a hand towards me. "Thank you for answering my questions. You've been very helpful to the PRT."

"No problem," I said, cool as a cucumber and I was actually shaking Eidolon's hand! I _dreamed_ about this as a kid. Best day ever.

"I look forward to meeting you again under better circumstances.. Take care of yourself, Resonance," Eidolon said as he lifted off. "I leave Brockton Bay in your hands."

My spine straightened itself out. "I won't fail you." He faded from reality in shades, until a translucent afterimage was all that remained and even that didn't last.

By the time I went back downstairs, George was already behind the reception desk again.

"So how does all this-" I gestured to the entrance, "-protect you guys anyway? I mean, if the threat's already inside, it's not much use." And from what I'd seen so far, just about anyone and their mother could come in.

"That's going to change pretty soon," he said. "The police have been nice enough to offer some officers to search people before coming in. You know, look for weapons."

I raised a brow at that. "I'm guessing more than half the people out there have something on them you could call a weapon. I don't think they'd give them up that easily." And that was a lot of people to deny medical help to, many just trying to get by.

"It's definitely not ideal, but we're working on it."

Nothing I could really do about that. "How's life been treating you here? The Undersiders haven't been causing any trouble?"

"Pretty comfortable actually," he said. "One of our former patients used to be a school teacher. She opened up a daycare which has just been a _godsend_." I could imagine. It was hard enough working in a hospital after an apocalypse. It was just downright impossible to do it while taking care of a young girl. "The Undersiders have been pretty tame for a gang, I have to admit. Haven't really tried anything other than an offer to protect us. We accepted."

"You did?" I asked.

"Dr. Crosby, he's the doctor in charge now, tries not to get involved in all of this gang business," George said. "As long as they don't bother us, we couldn't care less what they do. We're Switzer-"

BOOM!

I broke into a dead sprint. There was no mistaking the sound of Torpedo's powers being used. What was more worrying was how loud it had been. The situation must be bad if he had to force out that much explosive output in a single discharge.

Of all the days the Merchants could've chosen to hit us again, they chose the one when I wasn't around to stop them.

I ignored the burning sensation in my legs and lungs, pushing myself further and faster as the outer range of my senses intersected with the outer perimeter of the camp. A monstrous figure stood alone in the midst of a bulletstorm, more thing than man.

"DOSER!" I screamed, the sound reaching farther than it had any right to.

Broken bodies, a dozen at least and scattered across cement. The cape turned to face me, his eyes bloodshot and glassy. He smiled darkly, metal fangs dripping with crimson. "That was for the eye, bitch." He pointed at me My heart pounded as I noticed the flex in his legs. "Next time, it'll be your turn."

He leapt away, deep gouges marking his passing.

Broken corpses, a dozen at least and only one I could see.

Dad.

 **AN:** Moral of the story, use of kiddo is fatal for a character.


	17. Ruin-14: Easier this way

**Chapter 14: Easier this way**

 _Dad…_ I couldn't move, couldn't tear my eyes away from him. My body felt heavy and foreign and detached.

There was another boom in the distance and the faint sounds of repeating gunfire.

No. Doser might have left, but this... _this_ wasn't over. These people, my people, needed protection. They needed me. The Merchants had to be stopped. I stood up from my knees (when had I fallen?).

 _Find them._

That was easy with my vibration sense. All I had to do was follow the gunfire.

 _You do what's necessary, teach fuckers like the Merchants about what real punishment is. Not like the Protectorate...bunch of pussies._

Shadow Stalker was right. The Merchants had been rampant for far too long. If the PRT and the gangs were too scared to do anything about it, then I'd take care of the matter myself. It was time for this to end.

 _There'll be blood on the streets._

The first of the gangsters I found not far from the camp. Four of them, all with guns, one with-

"It's that cape-bitch! Shoot her!" The spray of bullets sent my way forced me to dive sideways behind the last standing wall of a ruined building. I could feel the concrete being finely chipped away by the rapid rate of fire.

Was that an assault rifle? Are you fucking kidding me? The government was struggling to get food into the city and the gangs still managed to smuggle automatics in?

My hand moved of its own volition over my kidney, where I had first been shot nine days ago, the first night I was with Dad…

My powers could protect me, true, but not perfectly. I'd been bruised by a pistol, a cheap looking one at that. Against professional weaponry like this, I didn't like my chances of surviving a direct shot.

Thankfully, if there was one thing the Merchants weren't, it was disciplined. If they had any brains to them, they'd have taken turns keeping me suppressed. Instead they wasted all their bullets in a single, continuous barrage that ended with all four reloading at the same time. A tiny lull in firing few could exploit. Unfortunately for them, I was someone who could do just that.

 _My turn._

It was a move I'd practiced a few times now - first an upward diagonal slashing motion starting at the waist level followed by a wild swing. The first shockwave that shot out mimicked the trajectory of my hand on a much larger scale, slapping their guns away. The second slammed into them with the force of a professional boxer's haymaker, knocking them down.

My shockwaves usually dispersed the farther they went, hitting a larger area with less force, enough to hurt someone still, but not badly. It was the same here.

The first of the four was getting back up by the time I was among them.

I jumped back, avoiding the wild swing of a steel bat as the snarl on his face became even more unpleasant somehow.

Something sharp - a knife - was coming up behind me. Already I was turning, right hand catching her wrist on its downward trajectory before the knife's tip could punch through my face. Her other hand came up in an instant and I was forced to respond in kind. The gangster from behind took a step forward, readying his bat to slam into the back of my head.

The ground trembled before he could move an inch closer, sending his footing this way and that. The other two, only now standing back up, were cast down again.

The sharp crack of distant guns was a reminder that I needed to end this quickly.

If I could funnel all the force in my shockwaves into one point precisely, I could do serious damage. Like funnelling it into the bottom of my foot as I kicked knife-girl's knee.

"GAHHH!" she screamed, toppling to the side as I let go of her, the knife clattering to the ground. To be safe, I kicked the blade away from her, my shockwaves carrying it farther than normally possible.

I turned around and watched the remaining three eye me warily.

I backed away a little, but not because I was scared. My vibrations were useful for many things, but they didn't give me superstrength. If I got pinned, I'd be in trouble.

"There's three of us and one of her," said the one in the middle. "Rush the bitch!"

Vibrations melded to the shape of my fist. I punched out as they moved, watching as the concentrated tremors connected. The gangster that spoke crumpled where he stood.

The one on the left charged with a knife, the other with nothing but his fists. It was an easy choice. I didn't feel any pain as his punch landed, my vibrations taking the force behind his blow and dispersing it. My fist hit him squarely in the stomach, sending him flying.

I moved to the side quickly, avoiding the wild slash of the blade and replying by blasting the last of the thugs away.

Something stung. A thin cut appeared on the length of my jacket's left sleeve. Did I get hit by that fucking knife? It didn't look to be bleeding much though. No time to waste bandaging it.

I didn't want to just leave the Merchants behind ( _kill them_ ) but what choice did I have? Every second I delayed meant the possibility of my people dying. Torpedo and the foragers were still out there, under attack, looking for supplies. What I'd done here would have to be enough.

I continued heading northwest, where Torpedo's booms had initially come from. I hadn't heard one in a while, which was unsurprising given how his powers needed more time the stronger his output.

Please be safe.

The sounds of scattered gunfire became louder and I knew I was on the right track. Where the Merchants went, violence followed. I paused to reach out with my vibrations. There was no sense rushing in if I didn't know where the enemy was. With all the noise their guns made, it wasn't all that hard to pinpoint them. About a dozen of the Merchants were spread out in a semicircle, surrounding a group half their size.

No, not just any group. It was Kurt's scavengers—the group Torpedo was with.

And Torpedo was just lying there, frighteningly still. The scavengers had taken up positions around him, hiding behind whatever cover they could find. But they were armed with just shotguns and pistols, and even I knew they'd be outclassed in a battle of range against the Merchants.

I needed to open up an escape route for my people. They only had so many bullets and those wouldn't last very long. Carefully, I silenced my steps with my powers. (Should have done that from the start…). Surprise was on my side for now, no sense in throwing that away.

The first thug, so focused on Kurt's group, never saw me coming. The second was a bit more aware and tried to shout out a warning, but I'd learned from my mistakes. It was oddly satisfying watching his face tur from surprise to fear as he found his voice didn't quite reach his own ears. Another Merchant had gone down before the others noticed something was going on.

"What the fuck's going on on the other side?" shouted one to another, fear and uncertainty coloring his voice. "Why'd they stop shooting?"

An idea struck me. " _You're next_ ," I whispered, pushing my voice out, making it sound like it was coming from everywhere at once, but nowhere in particular.

"Shit! It's a cape!" I could sense his cold sweat and the manic way he moved his head about.

"Jesus fuck! Another one?"

"They've got that another one too, the one that blew out Doser's eye!"

"Goddamn it, two capes? Here? Fuck that!" And that was all it took really. Once the first of them started running, the others followed.

After I was sure that they were all gone, I walked towards my foragers. "You guys alright?" I asked.

"For the most part," Kurt said. "Torpedo got hit pretty bad though." My eyes drifted towards his still form and something cold and ugly gripped me.

"Bring him back to camp, Kurt," I said. "Bring everyone back. No one leaves camp until I'm done here."

"You're not going back with us?" Kurt asked.

"Someone has to hunt these animals down," I growled. Doser might be able to clear the range of my vibration sense in seconds, but the Merchants, even in their vehicles, weren't so fortunate. "Drive them from out from whatever rocks they're hiding under." _Find their lair._

"You're bleeding," he noted with a tinge of worry.

I looked down at my arm, a bit of red mixing with the black leather. "Only a little."

He rolled his eyes and tore off a strip of his shirt. "Let me take a look at that at least." He made quick work of bandaging it. At least I wouldn't bleed to death now. "They hit us pretty badly didn't they?"

"At least a dozen dead back in camp," I said. "They...they got Da-Danny."

Kurt stared at me. " _What?!_ " His tone was vehement. He gnashed his teeth and I could feel the sudden tenseness in his body. "Fuck. _Fuck!_ " He cursed, slinging his shotgun across his shoulder.

"Make those bastards pay, Resonance." Kurt looked me right in the eye. "Make them pay."

 _Hunt them down._ "I will," I promised. _End them all_.

 _You're going without backup, Resonance?_ I could practically hear Dad asking. Kurt wasn't him though. Kurt listened to orders.

It was easier this way.

 _-Resonance-_

 _We can talk when I get back._

"RAAGH!" a Merchant screamed, swinging a steel bat. I didn't move, didn't dodge, didn't push it away. I barely felt anything as my face turned with the blow.

Numb.

The girl tried to pull back her arm, but I didn't let her. My left hand had her wrist in a vise, and my right curled into a fist. There's just something inherently gratifying in watching someone cough up blood. It was less gratifying watching someone cough up blood on me.

Dumb bitch was heavier than she looked too. I released her hand and she sank to the ground, clutching her abdomen as bloody spittle dripped from her lips. I sidestepped her, taking the time to stomp on her ankles. Her screams almost drowned out the unnatural sounds her body made.

Almost.

I walked up to the next Merchant, vicious ripples of force thrumming around my knuckles. He moved back as I swung, managing to avoid my fist. He wasn't lucky enough to dodge the shockwave following my punch.

His head snapped back, dragging the rest of him to the ground like a heavy anchor. He fell, unconscious before he even landed, his head bouncing badly off of the floor. Or did he pass out from his head hitting the floor? I considered that for an instant before I dismissed the stray thought. Who gave a fuck when it happened?

The last one tried to run for it. I almost wanted to laugh. Did he forget who I was? What I could do?

The shockwaves caught him before he managed six steps. I turned him face up, then grinded his bones beneath my heels, watching his face twist. "I have questions."

Step on right wrist—crack!

"You're a fuckin' psycho! You're supposed to ask questions first!"

"You mean—" step on left wrist—crack! "—like this? I could do this next if you want," I said, placing my foot on his chest. _Crush your heart in_.

He didn't answer, panting heavily instead. What do you know? Merchants could learn new tricks. "Where's Doser hiding?"

"I-in an appartment p-past the Trainyards," he said.

"What else?" I asked. "Anything distinct about it?"

"It's four, no five! Five floors!" He sucked in a breath. "Skidmark's holding a party there two nights from now at midnight! It'll be l-loud, you can't miss it man!"

"A party?"

"Y-yeah, y'know. To get high and shit," he gasped out.

Disgusting, decadent, despicable. It was so _typical_ of the Merchants.

My vibrations picked up on something—no, someone materializing behind me. A teenage girl judging from the build. "Hello Shadow Stalker," I said.

"Resonance," she greeted, stepping up besides me, crossbow resting across her shoulder. "You sure got these bastards good."

"Thanks," I said. "Are you on patrol?"

"Kinda. Clockblocker was being lame, so I ditched him," she said, kneeling to grasp the Merchant's face. "So a party huh?"

"Y-yes," he said.

"Personally, I prefer crashing parties. More of a thrill to it that way," she said. "How many of you fuckers are going to be there?"

"E-everyone."

"Everyone?" I asked.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Resonance?" Stalker asked, eyes glinting as she stood. "We could hit the punks so hard they'd be reeling for weeks."

End the Merchants with a single blow. Take down their capes, watch the gang fall apart...or just collapse the roof on their heads. The Empire had to have some explosives lying around and what was one more building compared to Behemoth's destruction? None of them were worth anything alive anyway.

"Could we count on the PRT for help?" I asked.

Stalker snorted. "Those pussies are too scared of their own shadows to do anything about _anything_. And even if they weren't, it'd take them months to get their asses into gear with all their fucking forms and paperwork. No, the Merchants are just Merchants. We can take them on our own, Resonance."

 _You're going to get yourself killed, kiddo._

Kill them. Kill them all.

"Let's do it," I said, letting wave after wave roll off of my foot and push down into the thug's chest.

Nothing but strangled sounds from him, as the vibrations forced the air out of his lungs inch by inch. _Choke on this, you fuck._

"Resonance," Stalker called out, "that's enough."

I looked at her, surprised. "You're defending scum like him?" What happened to "teaching the Merchants about real punishment"? "You're not going soft, are you?" Of all the heroes in this city, I thought she'd understand.

She scoffed. "'Fuck no, I'm just keeping my eye on the big picture."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You off this guy now, chances are, the PRT slaps a murder charge on you," she said.

"Who's going to tell them? You?"

"I'm no rat," Stalker said, "but people like Armsmaster, like Piggot? They're not stupid. They've got ways of finding you out."

I glanced to the side, towards the remnants of a Behemoth-burned building. "Would they bother in the middle of all this?" What was a bunch of lowlifes in the grand scheme of things? "People are dying left and right anyways."

"Yeah, but they're not dying to potential Ward recruits, are they? What's the term they use—" she snapped her fingers, "—parahuman murder?"

"Murder with parahuman powers," I said. _Almost like Canary,_ I couldn't help but think.

"Right, that one. Roughing up the scum is fine, wouldn't really stick in court if you hurt some thugs, but killing...well, they'd never let a vigilante get away with that. They'd slap that charge on you and force you into the Wards program."

"I think they have larger problems."

"And they think they need more capes to solve those problems," she retorted. "You off these people, you end up like me and you _don't_ want that."

"Like you?" I asked.

"I'm on parole, shit ain't pretty. The point is, it's a one-way ticket to get thrown into the Wards," she said.

"That doesn't sound so bad," I said.

She gave me a look. "Are you kidding? All these fucking useless rules and regulations and restrictions that stop us from doing what _needs_ to be done. If it were up to me, the Merchants would've been taken care off from the beginning. Only reason it hasn't happened is because of the bureaucrats!"

 _What if, in eradicating one evil, I attract greater evils._

 _Capes need oversight._ Hadn't I said that once? It felt so long ago. And yet, it was that oversight that stopped the heroes from acting. From stopping the Merchants. The reason Dad...

"You're free to do something _real_ about what's going on in this city right now. You can't do that in the Wards," she said. "And trust me, listening to the Wards bitch and moan about their drama is annoying. I'm glad Behemoth hit the city, to be honest."

"Why?" I asked, brows furrowing.

"To wake them up! Them and everyone else!" she said. "They've been living in their own little bubbles, blind to the goddamn world. It's time they saw what things are _really_ like."

 _Even civilized, man proves to be nothing but a slave of violence._

"People are even learning to fight for themselves for a change," she continued. "People like the ones you've rounded up." There was a glint of something I couldn't quite place in her eye.

I tilted my head to the side, lifting my foot off the gangster. "So what do we do with them?"

"Leave 'em here. Someone will stumble onto them eventually."

"Wait! You can't just leave us!" he shouted, more at Stalker than me. "You bitch! We'll die here!"

There was something almost feral about the way she held herself. "From a few broken bones?" she asked.

As we walked away from the alley to the screams of those left behind, Stalker turned to face me. "We need a plan to take them out," she said. Shadow Stalker's dark brown eyes glinted with anticipation. "You up for some recon?"


	18. Ruin-15: For you

**Chapter 15: For you**

Torpedo knocked on the door. "Resonance?"

The bloodstained mask felt so very heavy, resting on my right hand. I couldn't bring myself to lift it, to hide my face. What was the point of it now, concealing my identity, when Dad was- "Come in."

The door creaked open and slammed shut almost in the same instance. "Uh- you're not wearing your mask," he said. Through my vibrations, I could tell he was trying hard not to look at my face.

"It's fine." Finally, I lifted my head. "Are you feeling better?" He was in bad shape the last time I saw him, when he had to be dragged away by Kurt.

"My injuries from yesterday do not bother me anymore. Mrs. Holton said it was only a concussion." Torpedo smiled. "The Lord has blessed me with good health, it will take more than that to bring me down."

"That's good," I said, my gaze dropping once more.

Silence seeped back into the room, him staring at the fascinating minimalist design of the ceiling, me at the random shapes the red on my mask formed. He broke it first. "We should join the others. The pyres are almost finished and I must pray to Scion for the souls of the fallen."

Something thick seemed to lodge itself in my throat. "Right," I managed to choke out. The pyres for the funeral…In the end, Kurt had decided to burn the bodies.

" _We can't just leave them to rot and the only place to bury them is the cemetery on Captain's Hill. It's too far away and too dangerous. Cremation is our only choice."_

"Resonance?" Torpedo called out. He took a few steps towards me, keeping his eyes away from my face still. "Your hands are shaking."

Were they?

"Oh." He kneeled and there was something inexplicably _heavy_ in how he did it. "You were close to one of the fallen, weren't you?" _One of those who died_.

"Yeah," I said, my voice a mere whisper, yet it felt so very loud.

And then he hugged me. For a while, he said nothing, and somber silence enveloped us in her arms as well. "I…I'm sorry for your loss. Your...person is in a better place now at least. Scion watches over his flock," he finished.

Not like that was difficult compared to the shithole we were in, I couldn't help but think.

Torpedo pulled away, averting his eyes. "You should put your mask on before we head outside."

"What for?" I snapped and guilt crept onto me as soon as I heard myself. He didn't deserve that, not from me. "What's the point of a secret identity if he's-" I closed my eyes. "What's the point of it if I have no one left."

He didn't answer at first, except to lift the mask from my lap and fit it over my face with a gentle hand. Then, he said, "To protect yourself. You have a life to live still." He walked over to the door and held it open, looking to me now. "Whenever you're ready."

To go out there. To see the bodies. To see Dad's.

Each beat of my heart was pained, like the muscle was a prisoner trying to break past the sternum that held it. Going to see him...it felt like surrendering to fate. Would Dad have even wanted me to go? After what I said to him?

And yet, to stay here was worse, somehow. My dad was gone, and it was my fault. I owed him this. I owed it to him to see this through to the end.

I took a deep breathe, and walked out the room.

In the middle of the camp, the dead were piled atop a wooden construct smelling of kerosene. My people, what was left of them, sat around the unlit pyre. Few words were shared between them.

"Resonance," Kurt called out. "Krieg is at the gate. Which is strange, we haven't asked the Empire for more supplies recently."

I frowned beneath my mask, but nodded. "I'll take care of it." They walked with me until we reached the edge of camp. Torpedo remained inside the perimeter, but I could feel his eyes on me and Kurt as we approached Krieg.

"Good morning, Resonance," Krieg said, acknowledging my first, before inclining his head towards Kurt. "Civilian."

I blinked. That was strange. Usually he referred to me as "fraulein". "Does the Empire have business with us today?"

"No," he said.

"Why are you here then?" Kurt asked.

"You lost a lot of good people yesterday."

Kurt stiffened beside me. There was a certainty to his voice that made it clear he _knew_ what had happened. There was no point lying to him now. "Yes."

"If you would allow it, I wish to pay my respects," he said.

The thing was, Krieg actually meant what he said. He seemed _almost_ like a decent human being...until you remembered he was a neonazi. "As long as you don't cause any trouble." I stepped aside. "After you."

I glanced at the Empire cape. He was turning more than a few heads, but nothing hostile that I could see. It's hard to hate someone who's been nothing but nice to you. On a purely intellectual level, I _knew_ he was a bad person _because_ he was a nazi. But seeing him here, bowing before the pyre and whispering a prayer for the dead...it was easy to forget what he really was.

"Something's off about this," Kurt muttered, loud enough so only I could hear.

"About what?"

Kurt nudged his head in the direction of Krieg. "Him, being here, knowing about all this. How did he find out?"

"He has that spy of his in our camp," I said. I really had to figure out _who_ that was one of these days.

"Resonance, no one's been allowed to leave the camp since the attack and everyone has been accounted for. The spy couldn't have told him."

My blood ran cold. "Are you sure?"

"We had people watching the perimeter all night, double watch. It's not impossible, but I doubt it," he said.

That meant Krieg, and by extension the Empire, had a means of watching the camp without his spy and without us knowing. Actually, it was entirely possible that spy of his didn't even exist. He could be just trying to throw us off the fact that Kaiser had someone keeping an eye on us.

"Anyway," he continued, "it's something we can look into afterwards. For now, we should focus on the funeral. Do you want to share a few words before we light the pyre?"

My throat felt dry. "I...I wouldn't know what to say." What could I say to make up for what I said to Dad now? Nothing. He was...Dad was gone now. All the sorry's in the world wouldn't bring him back.

"Alri- what the hell is he up to now?"

Krieg had made his way to the pyre, actively holding the attention of the crowd now by standing to address them. "Good morning, people of Resonance. For those of you who don't know me, I am Krieg of the Empire. Yes, the nazi group," he said with a smile, looking proud of the fact.

I could sense the men we had guarding the perimeter looking to Kurt for orders. "Should we stop him?" he asked. In the end, it was still my call. If there was a fight, it'd be up to me and Torpedo.

Krieg's smile dropped into something appropriately solemn. "I won't lie to you. These men-" he gestured to the pyre, "-I didn't know them. I can't claim to share any blood with them, but the Empire- no, _I_ mourn for your loss all the same. They were people who wanted to make this city a better place, a _safer_ place. They stepped up to help when it'd have been so easy to strike out on their own."

"Let him be," I said to Kurt. He signalled to his men, and the guns lowered.

"It's noble what they did," Krieg continued. Maybe it was my imagination, but for a second, his eyes met mine as if to show he appreciated it. "And the Merchants, those useless, squirming _maggots_ who have done nothing in life but get high killed them," he growled. "I assure you, this will not go unanswered. One way or another, the Merchants will pay for this. Their deaths will not be in vain."

More words were shared after that. First, from Kurt who spoke at length about Dad and after him, more of Dad's friends came forward to speak. They had stories about him and of the other men that died. Stories I'd never known about and I was his daughter. Stories of him in college, with Mom. Happy moments, sad moments, dumb moments, brave moments...

In the end, I didn't really know Dad, did I? I never cared to know, never knew how he became the man he was.

And now, I would never be able to.

Then others stood to talk. Mothers. Sons. Sisters. _Family._

And Dad...Dad didn't have that. There was only me and me alone and I said nothing. He didn't deserve to die. It should have been me instead. If I'd never gotten my powers, maybe he'd still be alive...

The bodies began to burn. My eyes began to sting.

"Krieg was right about one thing," I said to Torpedo. "One way or another, this is going to end."

"We attack?" Torpedo asked, sounding hopeful. "They are an obstacle to the dream of the Golden Temple. To deliver them into Scion's righteous judgment would only be proper."

"Good." I blinked away my half-formed tears. "We leave an hour before dawn."

The Merchants, they planned to have a party in two days time to _celebrate._ They would never get the chance, not if Shadow Stalker or I could help it. The Merchants we'd left alive and questioned served a purpose, or so the vigilante turned Ward told me.

" _Have to throw them off, of course. The Merchants will be expecting us to hit them on the night of the party this way. It'll be a surprise when we arrive earlier than they expect. Take out the capes and the gang will fall to pieces."_

 _This is for you, Dad._


	19. Ruin-16: Fall

**Chapter 16: Fall**

Torpedo and I slipped away from the camp with the stars still twinkling overhead. It was not an uncommon sight for Brockton anymore.

" _We'll hit them while they're sleeping,"_ Shadow Stalker had said.

If we were attacking someone else, we might have chosen to leave a bit earlier, but the Merchants didn't strike me as the type to sleep early.

I felt Torpedo's knees bend a little as he hugged my waist tight from behind and I braced myself for launch. We had practiced this a few times now, but it still felt...weird. I had a few ideas how Torpedo and I could synergize, and this was at the top of that list. We needed now more than ever to cover our biggest weakness: mobility.

"Direction?" he asked. I pointed with my finger and-

I felt the roar of his sound waves ripple out as I was tugged skywards at an angle. My hands reached out, an instinct born from repetition, and I forced the waves back towards us, muting it in effect. After all, our surprise attack wouldn't be much of one if we woke up half the city before we got there.

The ruins of northern Brockton passed beneath us quickly and soon, the Merchant's base was in sight. It was a five story apartment building that had somehow survived Behemoth. There were six guards awake, two on the roof and four by the entrance. Surprising that the Merchants had sense enough to set up a night watch.

I felt Torpedo's power stop abruptly as gravity reestablished its dominance over our forms. I manipulated the vibrations in the air to gently nudge us on our freefall, just so we'd land beside the building with a mural of Scion where Shadow Stalker said to meet. From up high, I could see she was already there.

She wasn't alone.

I frowned, but kept it out of my mind and focused on the landing. I redistributed the force behind our fall before the impact could kill us, creating a cushion of air. It was more for Torpedo's sake than mine. My powers actually _tried_ to keep me alive.

Stalker's companion stared at us. Dressed in his golden suit and lion helm, he looked like a champion gladiator come to life. Triumph - he looked his name.

"Glad you could make it for joint patrols, Resonance, Torpedo," he said, sticking out a hand. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Triumph."

Joint patrols? What now?

I stepped forward to shake it. "Nice to meet you," I said, before raising a brow at Stalker. What was he doing here? What the hell was he talking about?

She tilted her head ever so slightly to the side. _Go with it. Trust me._

Torpedo turned to observe the graffitti on the wall. "Hmm."

"So you can fly now?" Triumph asked. "That's neat. The others never mentioned that."

"It's a new development. I had to get around the city somehow."

"Most people walk."

"Walking takes time." Time I might not have. Time not protecting my people. Time which could have saved Dad. "It's inefficient."

Triumph cracked a smile. "No wonder Armsmaster likes you."

Armsmaster talked about me?

"So," Triumph continued, "I'm not too familiar with this neighborhood. The Protectorate hasn't had any patrols in this area since Behemoth. We should stick together just in case."

"We'd cover more ground if we went in pairs," Stalker said, tapping her earpiece. Seems like the PRT had some tech working now. "As long as we keep in contact and aren't too far apart it should be fine."

"I agree with Shadow Stalker. We've got a lot of area to cover. Pairs is better," I said.

Triumph seemed uncertain still. "What do you think, Torpedo?"

"Resonance speaks for me," he said, looking away from the face of Scion at last.

"I'll go with Resonance," Shadow Stalker said, loading a bolt into her crossbow and pointing towards the base of the Merchants some five blocks away. "We'll go that way."

"Then we will go the other way," Torpedo said. "Scion preserve."

As the boys walked away, I heard Torpedo say to Triumph, "Have you heard of the Gospel of Scion, my friend?"

"Pardon?"

Well, that was one way of distracting someone. A soundproof barrier went up around us. "What was that?" I hissed at Stalker as we moved through the alley at a brisk pace.

"I needed an excuse to slip out of the Rig, so I fed Ms. Militia this story of how I'd convinced you to share a patrol with us. Y'know, in the spirit of cooperation and shit, try to convince you of joining the Wards."

"I thought you didn't want me joining?"

"I don't. Chill girl. They do this all the time for recruits and you're not committed to anything. It's all just playing nice," she said.

"And you couldn't ditch Triumph on the way here?" She'd done it before, more times than one if I had to guess.

"And give away the game too early?" Stalker said. "No way. We finally have a chance to hit the Merchants. I wasn't going to jeopardize that by risking getting grounded in camp because I snuck off too early." Her eyes gleamed of something wild and vivid. "You gotta be patient about these things."

We paused behind a building within eyeshot of the Merchant's base. "So what now?" I asked, letting a mental blueprint of the building piece itself together in real time.

"You can mute sounds right?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Then it's simple. Sneak in, wait, react, escalate." A smirk grew on her lips. "And if anyone asks, they shot first."

We could call in Triumph and Torpedo then, maybe feed them a story about how we were investigating when we were attacked by Merchants. "You want plausible deniability," I realized.

"What I want is to take down as many of those bastards down as I can before _I_ get taken down," she said. "Can't do that if Armsmaster or Director Piggot decide to stick me in a cell."

"You make being a Ward sound like a prisoner."

She snorted. "You have no idea. Found where the capes are at?"

I closed my eyes to concentrate. "Scrapyard, Doser and Mush are on the third floor. Squealer and Skirmark are on the fourth." Wait, but where was- "Trainwreck isn't here." _Trainwreck isn't here! That son of a-_

Stalker's fist lashed out in a jab and my head snapped back, the taste of copper fresh on my tongue.

"Are you calm now?" she asked. "Because you're little earthquake was about to give us away."

"There are only five of them. We're just going to let Trainwreck get away?" I growled.

"It'd have been better if he was there too, but it makes the fight easier for us. Five out of six is still a good haul. As for Trainwreck, well…"

"We can hunt that bastard down some other day," I finished.

"Now you're getting it." She paused. "You know how we can get in? Security at the entrance looks tight."

I frowned at her. "Can't you phase through walls in that shadow state of yours?"

She was quiet for a while, as if thinking something through. Finally, she answered, "No, not if there's wiring or electricity between the walls." Stalker's gaze turned sharp. "You tell anyone about that and I'll make you a pincushion for my bolts."

Stalker struck me as the type who followed up on their threats. "Noted."

Trying to break through the walls with my powers…no, that might risk giving us away by any number of means. I hadn't tested how effective my waves would be at demolishing a building, or if I could control it well enough to only breakdown a segment of it.

I could just crush all the Merchants this way. It would make things easier, but the PRT would be after me and Trainwreck was still out there. No, I couldn't afford that, not until all of them were put away.

"We could go through the roof," I said, the shallow outline of a plan coming together in my head.

"The roof? We'd never make that jump," she said.

I made my way inside the building we were hiding behind. The stairs to the roof were thankfully still good enough to use. "I have an idea."

"You sure this will work?" she asked, standing on the ledge's edge as I verbalized my thoughts.

"Probably." I placed both my hands on her back, feeling the waves around me, feeling the _potential_ converge at the tips of my fingers. Then potential became reality, power rippling out and propelling Shadow Stalker forward. Then Stalker became shadow, the momentum carrying her dark form -practically invisible against the predawn sky- farther than any human jump could take her, bridging the gap between the buildings.

I reached out before she landed, willing all sound and noise obey, to remain unheard outside of the roof, and the waves obeyed.

Stalker turned solid, slamming into the first of the two guards and sending the woman sprawling. She brought her crossbow up, aimed and fired before the other could react, sending a quarrel through his arm. Another shot followed, punching through the soft flesh and muscle of the thigh. His screams, while loud, were pointless and short. Stalker knocked both of them out with a solid punch each to the face.

My tongue licked my lips of its own volition, still tasting the blood lingering where she had jabbed me. The girl could throw a mean punch.

Breathe in. I took a few steps back, gathering the waves to the soles of my feet.

Breathe out. I ran and I leapt. A leap of faith, Torpedo called it. Faith in the powers Scion had granted me. Whether he had or he hadn't didn't matter. My powers obeyed, bursts of force -as much as I could manage- ricocheting between feet and floor, and I jumped far enough to be an Olympic medalist.

And I realized in midair, it was not far enough. Just a bit more, just a step farther, I might have managed. I reached out with my hands, desperate to grab something, anything, but found nothing- and I felt myself fall-

Stalker grabbed my arm. "Don't move," she grunted. Her grip was firm, never slipping as she hoisted me up.

"Do you work out?" I asked.

She shrugged, dragging the female guard to the other and cuffing their arms together. "Things get boring at the Rig."

"How many more of those cuffs do you have?"

We walked over to the door. "One person on the other side," I said. "He's got a gun."

She nodded. "Cut the sound."

"Go."

She phased through the wall, barely registering to my vibrations.

"The fuck!" Thunder rang against the metal door as he emptied his pistol at the incorporeal girl. The moment he had to reload, it was all over.

The door creaked open and I stepped inside, reaching out with my senses again to get a clearer map of the building's interior. "We need to take out Squealer first," I said. "There are a few guards between us and her." They'd be easy enough to deal with with my vibrations and Stalker's shadow state.

Squealer was some sort of vehicular tinker and the reason why the Merchants had enjoyed the level of influence they had for the past two weeks. Having working cars before anyone else meant they could cover and claim much more ground.

"Right. Gotta cut off their escape. No point to all this if they get away," Stalker said, reloading her weapon.

"I should lead," I said. "I know the building better." I felt the muscles on her face form into a frown, but she didn't protest.

We picked our way through the base, ignoring the sleeping and drug-addled scum polluting the place.

Finally, we were in front of Skidmark and Squealer's room. The two were an item apparently. I couldn't understand why any woman would want Skidmark. The logical conclusion was that Squealer's tastes were absolute shit.

Both were sleeping and naked. _Gross_.

Squealer was a tinker and tinkers were fucking bullshit. Thankfully, tinkers were also useless in a straight up fight without her toys. Skidmark was a bit of a problem. He had a force field power of some sort. He was asleep though and based on his current...disposition, was probably not prepared for any sort of fight.

I whispered to Stalker as much.

"Fucking white trash," she muttered. "We can't go through the door, that might wake them up."

"Not a problem," I said, placing a hand against the wall. One moment, it was resolute against me; in the next, the stone seemed to part from my touch.

Stalker starred. "You can copy powers."

"I told you before I was a trump."

"Seeing it is different," she said, before nodding. "Okay, let's do this."

I silenced the room.

We entered and oh-god-naked-Skidmark why?! I was torn between keeping my eyes closed - because this was torture fitting for that special place in hell - and getting the job done. In the end, the job won. The things I did for the greater good.

Deftly, Stalker cuffed both their arms and legs, then just to be sure they couldn't leave we cuffed their legs to the bed. They didn't even stir, whether because they were on a drug high or because of other reasons I didn't want to know.

"Hold up. Triumph's calling," she said. "Shadow Stalker here. We're busy right now."

"Merchants."

"Well, they shot first. We're just defending ourselves."

"Too late for that." She pressed a finger to the device, shutting it off. "We need to hurry up. He's calling the PRT in. They'll track us with this."

"We should hurry then." Hopefully, Torpedo could buy us some more time by stalling Triumph.

Now came the hard part: Doser and Scrapyard. They looked like the capes with the strongest powers among the Merchants now, if only they weren't so stupid with them. Like Lung, Doser was a brute that escalated. Unlike Lung, he needed dope to fuel that escalation and he had a hard limit. Panacea had proved Doser could still OD. The best way to beat him was making sure he never got near his stash. Capes are like magicians. At the end of the day, they're just human with fancy tricks. If you know where to look, they become much less impressive.

Scrapyard had a strong magnetism power, but I could fight him. I could _beat_ him if it came to that. My powers even boosted by his were nothing close to his level of control, but it would be enough to mess with him, enough to make him hurt himself.

As for Mush, he was a distraction at best. His powers were defensive, making a trash hardshell for himself. It wouldn't protect him from Stalker's shots.

We stepped into Mush's room and then Dozer charged right through the wall, slamming me against the wall. I barely had time to disperse the blow and I _felt_ that hit. Mush was right behind him and Scrapyard further back, scraps of metal circling his body.

"Dumb fucking bitches," Scrapyard said. "I can sense metal, you fucks!" Not very well if it took him this long to react to us.

Doser pulled me forward and pushed me back up against the wall. I felt it crack, felt my control slip a little and-

"RESONANCE!" Doser screeched with a voice of grated metal. My sound barrier shattered before the sound, probably waking the entire compound too.

So much for subtlety.

A bolt from Stalker struck Doser in the face, annoying but not hurting the cape. Doser ignored it, his clawed metal hands squeezing harder, threatening to break me in half.

My powers were no match for his. I'd learned my lesson from before. My body vibrated, resonated, phased into a state he couldn't touch and he stared dumbly as I slipped through his body. Stalker continued to flit in and out of my vibration sense, switching forms at a dime to dodge blows and fire back as she began a projectile duel with Scrapyard that moved to the hallway.

I rushed towards Mush, feeling as Doser snarled at my back, sensing the familiar tension in his legs before he charged. Air displaced and I was ready for it, phasing before he reached me and slamming into a surprised Mush with nothing but a half-formed trash heap to save him.

"Fu-"

Mush went flying. He looked down to me, possibly concussed. Less work for me to do.

"How's the eye, Doser," I said and he growled in reply. On the very edge of my senses, I could feel people scurrying away like rats of a sinking ship. The Merchants were cowards in the end. You could put a gun in every hand, but that didn't mean they'd have the balls to stay in a fight they were losing.

And they were losing. Scrapyard was cornered on the hallway, his back against a wall as he tried to ward off Stalker. Mush was out cold. Skidmark and Squealer were squirming against their restraints.

 _Their time will come_. No Merchant would ever walk free, not in this city, not while I lived.

Doser had to go down and while Stalker's power helped me dodge him, it didn't help hurt him. Scrapyard's would though.

 _Move!_ my vibrations seemed to scream at me as Doser blurred from sight, crossing the room. I jumped to the side too late, his claws leaving deep gashes across my back, flinging me against the wall. Hitting the wall itself didn't hurt much more compared to that,

I stood quickly, pointing with both palms against Doser, watching as he licked the blood of his hands with a manic smile.

"Fuck you," I snarled. Power surged to the fore as steel bended before me. I ordered and it obeyed.

Metal screeched as it curled backwards, taking bloody chunks with it. "RAGHHH!" Doser roared, thrashing from side to side, struggling against the hold of my borrowed magnetism. His tail darted here and there, too wild to be tamed, carving up the ground.

My eyes widened. He was trying to cut through the-

He dropped out of sight, falling to the floor below. I could sense him moving below me, my grip on him slipping as he grabbed onto something plastic. _Smack_ I realized. I could feel his smirk as he ripped open the packet of white and snorting the powder like a man possessed. The metal on his skin doubled, his tail grew spiked and vicious, his one good eye gained a steely hue.

 _Get out-_ he jumped faster than I could follow, crashing through cement like it was but air.

I could barely lift my hands and suddenly I was flying again. I landed on my back and he was on top of me, murder in his eyes and his tail around my neck, closing in, breathe- need- _escape!_

And suddenly I could breathe again and I was staring at dust fall from a ceiling. I had phased through the floor. Then I felt Doser fall over to his side.

I counted to three before standing, wincing as the adrenaline deserted me. Channeling my shockwaves to my feet let me jump up to the other floor easily.

It was fascinating, watching Doser turn bluer than blue. I could _feel_ the air squeezed out of him as he suffocated on his own mistakes and I relished in it.

I could save him, maybe, if I called for the PRT to hurry, if I tried CPR.

Instead, I closed the door. Instead, I watched.

Instead, I waited.


End file.
